The  Story  of  the 
[yiDDS  aMTanes 


Theron  Brow 


and 


e^ekiah  Butterworth 


FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 


REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.   D.  D 


BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM   TO 


THE   LIBRARY  OF 


PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 


Division       ^^CL 
Section  39/^ 


THE  STORY  OF 


THE 


Hymns  and  Tunes 


THERON    BROWN 

T 

HEZEKIAH    BUTTERWORTH 


Multae  terricolis  linguae,  coeleslihus   una. 


Ten  thousand,  thousand  are  their  tongues, 
"But  all  their  joys  are  one. 


AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY 

150  NASSAU  STREET 

NEW  YORK 


Copyright,   1906 
By   AMERICAN   TRACT   SOCIETY 


Issued  in  January^  igoy 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS. 


THOMAS  KEN, FroDtispiece 

OLIVER    HOLDEN, OpP'    P^g^        ^  4 

JOSEPH    HAYDN, **  30 

CHARLES    WESLEY, **  46 

MARTIN     LUTHER, **  62 

LADY    HUNTINGDON, *'  94 

AUGUSTUS    MONTAGUE    TOPLADY, **  I26 

THOMAS     HASTINGS, **  1 42 

FRANCES     RIDLEY    HAVERGAL, **  I  58 

REGINALD     HEBER, **  1 74 

GEORGE    JAMES    WEBB, **  1 9O 

JOHN    WESLEY, '*  206 

JOHN    B.     DYKES, **  222 

ELLEN    M.     H.     GATES, *'  254 

JAMES     MONTGOMERY, *'  286 

FANNY    J.    CROSBY, **  302 

SAMUEL     F.     SMITH, **  334 

WILLIAM    B.     BRADBURY, **  366 

ISAAC    WATTS, **  398 

GEORGE     FREDERICK     HANDEL, **  4I4 

PHILIP    DODDRIDGE, **  446 

LOWELL    MASON, **  478 

CARL    VON    WEBER, **  494 

HORATIUS     BONAR, **  526 


CONTENTS, 


PREFACE, T 

INTRODUCTION, ix 

I.     HYMNS   OF   PRAISE   AND  WORSHIP, I 

2.  SOME  HYMNS   OF   GREAT  WITNESSES, 53 

3.  HYMNS   OF  CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION    AND   EXPERIENCE,  ICO 

4.  MISSIONARY    HYMNS, 165 

5.  hymns  of  suffering  and  trust, i9o 

6.  christian  ballads, 237 

7.  old  revival  hymns, 262 

8.  sunday  school  hymns, 293 

9.  patriotic  hymns, 32  i 

10.  sailor's  hymns, 353 

11.  hymns  of  wales, 378 

12.  FIELD    HYMNS, 409 

13.  HYMNS,  FESTIVAL   AND   OCCASIONAL, 458 

14.  HYMNS    OF   HOPE   AND    CONSOLATION, 509 

INDEXES    OF   NAMES,  TUNES,  AND  HYMNS, 543 


PREFACE 


When  the  lapse  of  time  and  accumulation  of 
fresh  material  suggested  the  need  of  a  new  and 
revised  edition  of  Mr.  Hezekiah  Butterworth's 
Story  of  the  Hymns,  which  had  been  a  popular 
text  book  on  that  subject  for  nearly  a  generation, 
the  publishers  requested  him  to  prepare  such  a 
work,  reviewing  the  whole  field  of  hymnology  and 
its  literature  down  to  date.  He  undertook  the  task, 
but  left  it  unfinished  at  his  lamented  death,  com- 
mitting the  manuscript  to  me  in  his  last  hours  to 
arrange  and  complete. 

To  do  this  proved  a  labor  of  considerable  magni- 
tude, since  what  had  been  done  showed  evidence 
of  the  late  author's  failing  strength,  and  when,  in 
a  conference  with  the  publishers,  it  was  proposed 
to  combine  the  two  books  of  Mr.  Butterworth, 
the  Story  of  the  Hymns  and  the  Story  of  the 
Tunes,  in  one  volume,  the  task  was  doubled. 

The  charming  popular  style  and  story-telling 
gift  of  the  well-known  compiler  of  these  books  had 
kept  them  in  demand,  the  one  for  thirty  and  the 
other  for  fifteen  years,  but  later  information  had 
discounted  some  of  their  historic  and  biographical 


VI  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

matter,  and,  while  many  of  the  monographs  were 
too  meagre,  others  were  unduly  long.  Besides, 
the  Story  of  the  TuneSy  so  far  from  being  the 
counterpart  of  the  Story  of  the  Hymns,  bore  no 
special  relationship  to  it,  only  a  small  portion  of  its 
selections  answering  to  any  in  the  hymn-list  of  the 
latter  book.  For  a  personal  friend  and  practically 
unknown  writer,  to  follow  Mr.  Butterworth,  and 
"improve"  his  earlier  work  to  the  more  modern 
conditions,  was  a  venture  of  no  little  difficulty  and 
delicacy.  The  result  is  submitted  as  simply  a  con- 
scientious effort  to  give  the  best  of  the  old  with  the 
new. 

So  far  as  was  possible,  matter  from  the  two 
previous  books,  and  from  the  crude  manuscript, 
has  been  used,  and  passages  here  and  there  tran- 
scribed, but  so  much  of  independent  plan  and 
original  research  has  been  necessary  in  arranging 
and  verifying  the  substance  of  the  chapters  that 
the  Story  of  the  Hymns  and  Tunes  is  in  fact  a 
new  volume  rather  than  a  continuation.  The 
chapter  containing  the  account  of  the  Gospel 
Hymns  is  recent  work  with  scarcely  an  exception, 
and  the  one  on  the  Hymns  of  Wales  is  entirely  new. 

Without  increasing  the  size  of  this  volume  be- 
yond easy  purchase  and  convenient  use,  it  was  im- 
possible to  discuss  the  great  oratorios  and  dramatic 
set-pieces,  festival  and  occasional,  and  only  pass- 
ing references  are  made  to  them  or  their  authors. 

Among  those  who  have  helped  me  in  my  work 
special  acknowledgements  are  due  to  Mr.  Hubert 


STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES.  Vll 

P.  Main  of  Newark,  N.  J.;  Messrs.  Hughes  &  Son 
of  Wrexham,  Wales;  the  American  Tract  Society, 
New  York;  Mr.  William  T.  Meek,  Mrs.  A.  J. 
Gordon,  Mr.  Paul  Foster,  Mr.  George  Douglas, 
and  Revs.  John  R.  Hague  and  Edmund  F.  Mer- 
riam  of  Boston;  Professor  William  L.  Phelps  of 
New  Haven,  Conn.;  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  H.  Gates  of 
New  York;  Rev.  Franklin  G.  McKeever  of  New 
London,  Conn.;  and  Rev.  Arthur  S.  Phelps  of 
Greeley,  Colorado.  Further  obligations  are  grate- 
fully remembered  to  Oliver  Ditson  &  Co.  for 
answers  to  queries  and  access  to  publications,  to 
the  Historic-and-Geneological  Society  and  the 
custodians  and  attendants  of  the  Boston  Public 
Library  (notably  in  the  Music  Department)  for 
their  uniform  courtesy  and  pains  in  placing  every 
resource  within  my  reach. 

THERON  BROWN. 
Boston,  May  15th,  1906. 


INTRODUCTION 


Augustine  defines  a  hymn  as  *'praise  to  God 
with  song,"  and  another  writer  calls  hymn-sing- 
ing "a  devotional  approach  to  God  in  our  emo- 
tions,"— which  of  course  applies  to  both  the 
words  and  the  music.  This  religious  emotion, 
reverently  acknowledging  the  Divine  Being  in 
song,  is  a  constant  element,  and  wherever  felt  it 
makes  the  song  a  worship,  irrespective  of  sect  or 
creed.  An  eminent  Episcopal  divine,  (says  the 
Christian  Register,)  one  Trinity  Sunday,  at  the 
close  of  his  sermon,  read  three  hymns  by  Unita- 
rian authors:  one  to  God  the  Father,  by  Samuel 
Longfellow,  one  to  Jesus,  by  Theodore  Parker, 
and  one  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  N.  L.  Frothing- 
ham.  "There,"  he  said,  "you  have  the  Trinity 
— Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." 

It  is  natural  to  speak  of  hymns  as  "poems," 
indiscriminately,  for  they  have  the  same  structure. 
But  a  hymn  is  not  necessarily  a  poem,  while  a 
poem  that  can  be  sung  as  a  hymn  is  something 
more  than  a  poem.  Imagination  makes  poems; 
devotion  makes  hymns.  There  can  be  poetry 
without  emotion,  but  a  hymn  never.    A  poem  may 


X  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

argue;  a  hymn  must  not.  In  short  to  be  a  hymn, 
what  is  written  must  express  spiritual  feelings  and 
desires.  The  music  of  faith,  hope  and  charity  will 
be  somewhere  in  its  strain. 

Philosophy  composes  poems,  but  not  hymns. 
"It  is  no  love-symphony  we  hear  when  the  lion 
thinkers  roar,"  some  blunt  writer  has  said.  "The 
moles  of  Science  have  never  found  the  heavenly 
dove's  nest,  and  the  Sea  of  Reason  touches  no  shore 
where  balm  for  sorrow  grows." 

On  the  contrary  there  are  thousands  of  true 
hymns  that  have  no  standing  at  the  court  of  the 
muses.  Even  Cowper's  Olney  hymns,  as  Goldwin 
Smith  has  said,  "have  not  any  serious  value  as 
poetry.  Hymns  rarely  have,"  he  continues. 
"There  is  nothing  in  them  on  which  the  creative 
imagination  can  be  exercised.  Hymns  can  be  little 
more  than  the  incense  of  a  worshipping  soul." 

A  fellow-student  of  Phillips  Brooks  tells  us  that 
"most  of  his  verse  he  wrote  rapidly  without  re- 
vising, not  putting  much  thought  into  it  but  using 
it  as  the  vehicle  and  outlet  of  his  feelings.  It  was  the 
sign  of  responding  love  or  gratitude  and  joy." 

To  produce  a  hymn  one  needs  something  more 
exalting  than  poetic  fancy;   an  influence 

" — subtler  than  the  sun-light  in  the  leaf-bud 
That  thrills  thro*  all  the  forest,  making  May." 

It  is  the  Divine  Spirit  wakening  the  human  heart 
to  lyric  language." 

Religion  sings;  that  is  true,  though  all  "relig- 
ions" do  not  sing.    There   is  no   voice  of  sacred 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

song  in  Islamism.  The  muezzin  call  from  the 
minarets  is  not  music.  One  listens  in  vain  for 
melody  among  the  worshippers  of  the  "  Light  of 
Asia."  The  hum  of  pagoda  litanies,  and  the 
shouts  and  gongs  of  idol  processions  are  not 
psalms.  But  many  historic  faiths  have  lost  their 
melody,  and  v^e  must  go  far  back  in  the  annals 
of  ethnic  life  to  find  the  songs  they  sung. 

Worship  appears  to  have  been  a  primitive  human 
instinct;  and  even  when  many  gods  took  the  place 
of  One  in  the  bHnder  faith  of  men  it  was  nature 
worship  making  deities  of  the  elements  and  ad- 
dressing them  with  supplication  and  praise. 
Ancient  hymns  have  been  found  on  the  monu- 
mental tablets  of  the  cities  of  NImrod;  fragments 
of  the  Orphic  and  Homeric  hymns  are  preserved 
in  Greek  anthology;  many  of  the  Vedic  hymns  are 
extant  in  India;  and  the  exhumed  stones  of  Egypt 
have  revealed  segments  of  psalm-prayers  and 
liturgies  that  antedate  history.  Dr.  Wallls  Budge, 
the  English  Orientalist,  notes  the  discovery  of  a 
priestly  hymn  two  thousand  years  older  than  the 
time  of  Moses,  which  Invokes  One  Supreme  Being 
who  "cannot  be  figured  In  stone." 

So  far  as  we  have  any  real  evidence,  however, 
the  Hebrew  people  surpassed  all  others  in  both 
the  custom  and  the  spirit  of  devout  song.  We  get 
snatches  of  their  inspired  lyrics  in  the  song  of  Moses 
and  Miriam,  the  song  of  Deborah  and  Barak,  and 
the  song  of  Hannah  (sometimes  called  *'the  Old 
Testament  Magnificat"),  in  the  hymns  of  David 


Xll  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

and  Solomon  and  all  the  Temple  Psalms,  and 
later  where  the  New  Testament  gives  us  the 
"Gloria'*  of  the  Christmas  angels,  the  thanks- 
giving of  Elizabeth  (benedictus  minor),  Mary's 
Magnificat,  the  song  of  Zacharias  (benedictus 
major),  the  "nunc  dimittis'*  of  Simeon,  and  the 
celestial  ascriptions  and  hallelujahs  heard  by  St. 
John  in  his  Patmos  dream.  For  what  we  know  of 
the  first  formulated  human  prayer  and  praise  we 
are  mostly  indebted  to  the  Hebrew  race.  They 
seem  to  have  been  at  least  the  only  ancient  nation 
that  had  a  complete  psalter — and  their  collection  is 
the  mother  hymn-book  of  the  world. 

Probably  the  first  form  of  hymn-worship  was 
the  plain-song — a  declamatory  unison  of  assem- 
bled singers,  every  voice  on  the  same  pitch,  and 
within  the  compass  of  five  notes — and  so  con- 
tinued, from  whatever  may  have  stood  for  plain- 
song  in  Tabernacle  and  Temple  days  down  to  the 
earliest  centuries  of  the  Christian  church.  It  was 
mere  melodic  progression  and  volume  of  tone,  and 
there  were  no  instruments — after  the  captivity. 
Possibly  it  was  the  memory  of  the  harps  hung 
silent  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon  that  banished  the 
timbrel  from  the  sacred  march  and  the  ancient  lyre 
from  the  post-exilic  synagogues.  Only  the  Feast 
trumpet  was  left.  But  the  Jews  sang.  Jesus  and 
his  disciples  sang.  Paul  and  Silas  sang;  and  so 
did  the  post-apostolic  Christians;  but  until  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  1 6th  century  there  were  no 
instruments  allowed  in  religious  worship. 


INTRODUCTION.  XIU 

St.  Hilary,  Bishop  of  Poitiers  has  been  called 
"the  father  of  Christian  hymnology.*'  About  the 
middle  of  the  4th  century  he  regulated  the  ecclesias- 
tical song-service,  wrote  chant  music  (to  Scripture 
words  or  his  own)  and  prescribed  its  place  and  use 
in  his  choirs.  He  died  A.  D.  368.  In  the  Church 
calendars,  Jan.  13th  (following  " Twelfth  Night"), 
is  still  kept  as  "St.  Hilary's  Day"  in  the  Church  of 
England,  and  Jan.   14th  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

St.  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan,  a  few  years  later, 
improved  the  work  of  his  predecessor,  adding 
words  and  music  of  his  own.  The  *'Ambrosian 
Chant"  was  the  antiphonal  plain- song  arranged 
and  systematized  to  statelier  effect  in  choral 
symphony.     Ambrose  died  A.  D.  397. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  6th  century  Christian 
music  showed  a  decline  in  consequence  of  im- 
patient meddhng  with  the  slow  canonical  psalm- 
ody, and  "reformers"  had  impaired  its  solemnity 
by  introducing  fanciful  embellishments.  Gregory 
the  Great  (Pope  of  Rome,  590-604)  banished  these 
from  the  song  service,  founded  a  school  of  sacred 
melody,  composed  new  chants  and  estabhshed  the 
distinctive  character  of  ecclesiastical  hymn  worship. 
The  Gregorian  chant — on  the  diatonic  eight  sounds 
and  seven  syllables  of  equal  length — continued, 
with  its  majestic  choral  step,  to  be  the  basis  of 
cathedral  music  for  a  thousand  years.  In  the 
meantime  (930)  Hucbald,  the  Flanders  monk, 
invented  sight  music,  or  written  notes — happily 
called  the  art  of  "hearing  with  the  eyes  and  seeing 


XIV  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

with  the  ears";  and  Guldo  Arentino  (1024)  con^ 
trived  the  present  scale,  or  the  "hexachord"  on 
which  the  present  scale  was  perfected. 

In  this  long  interval,  however,  the  "established" 
system  of  hymn  service  did  not  escape  the  intrusion 
of  inevitable  novelties  that  crept  in  with  the  change 
of  popular  taste.  Unrhythmical  singing  could  not 
always  hold  its  own;  and  when  polyphonic  music 
came  into  public  favor,  secular  airs  gradually  found 
their  way  into  the  choirs.  Legatos,  with  their  pleas- 
ing turn  and  glide,  caught  the  ear  of  the  multitude. 
Tripping  allegrettos  sounded  sweeter  to  the  vulgar 
sense  than  the  old  largos  of  Pope  Gregory  the  Great. 

The  guardians  of  the  ancient  order  took  alarm. 
One  can  imagine  the  pained  amazement  of  con- 
servative souls  today  on  hearing  "Ring  the  Bells 
of  Heaven"  substituted  in  church  for  "Mear"  or 
the  long-metre  Doxology,  and  can  understand  the 
extreme  distaste  of  the  ecclesiastical  reactionaries 
for  the  worldly  frivolities  of  an  A.  D.  1550  choir. 
Presumably  that  modern  abomination,  the  vibrato, 
with  its  shake  of  artificial  fright,  had  not  been 
invented  then,  and  sanctuary  form  was  saved  one 
indignity.  But  the  innovations  became  an  abuse 
so  general  that  the  Council  of  Trent  commissioned 
a  select  board  of  cardinals  and  musicians  to  arrest 
the  degeneration  of  church  song-worship. 

One  of  the  experts  consulted  in  this  movement 
was  an  eminent  Italian  composer  born  twenty 
miles  from  Rome.  His  full  name  was  Giovanni 
Pietro  Aloysio  da  Palestrina,  and  at  that  time  he 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

was  in  the  prime  of  his  powers.  He  was  master  of 
polyphonic  music  as  well  as  plain-song,  and  he 
proposed  applying  it  to  grace  the  older  mode,  pre- 
serving the  solemn  beauty  of  the  chant  but  adding 
the  charming  chords  of  counterpoint.  He  wrote 
three  "masses,"  one  of  them  being  his  famous 
"Requiem."  These  were  sung  under  his  direction 
before  the  Commission.  Their  magnificence  and 
purity  revealed  to  the  censors  the  possibilities  of 
contrapuntal  music  in  sanctuary  devotion  and 
praise.  The  sanction  of  the  cardinals  was  given — 
and  part-song  harmony  became  permanently  one 
of  the  angel  voices  of  the  Christian  church. 

Palestrina  died  in  1594,  but  hymn-tunes  adapted 
from  his  motets  and  masses  are  sung  today.  He 
was  the  father  of  the  choral  tune.  He  lived  to 
see  musical  instruments  and  congregational  sing- 
ing introduced*  in  public  worship,  and  to  know 
(possibly  with  secret  pleasure,  though  he  was  a 
Romanist)  how  richly  in  popular  assemblies,  dur- 
ing the  Protestant  Reformation,  the  new  freedom 
of  his  helpful  art  had  multiplied  the  creation  of 
spiritual  hymns. 

Contemporary  in  England  with  Palestrina  in 
Italy  was  Thomas  Tallis  who  developed  the 
Anglican  school  of  church  music,  which  differed 
less  from  the  Italian  (or  Catholic)  psalmody  than 
that  of  the  Continental  churches,  where  the  revolt 
of  the  Reformation  extended  to  the  tune-worship 
as  notably  as  to  the  sacraments  and  sermons.    This 

♦But  not  fully  established  in  use  till  about  1625. 


XVI  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

difference  created  a  division  of  method  and  prac- 
tice even  in  England,  and  extreme  Protestants  who 
repudiated  everything  artistic  or  ornate  formed 
the  Puritan  or  Genevan  School.  Their  stvle  is 
represented  among  our  hymn-tunes  by  ''Old  Hun- 
dred," while  the  representative  of  the  Anglican 
is  "Tallis'  Evening  Hymn."  The  division  was  only 
temporary.  The  two  schools  were  gradually  recon- 
ciled, and  together  made  the  model  after  which 
the  best  sacred  tunes  are  built.  It  is  Tallis  who  is 
called  "The  father  of  English  Cathedral  music." 

In  Germany,  after  the  invention  of  harmony, 
church  music  was  still  felt  to  be  too  formal  for  a 
working  force,  and  there  was  a  reaction  against  the 
motets  and  masses  of  Palestrina  as  being  too  stately 
and  difficult.  Lighter  airs  of  the  popular  sort, 
such  as  were  sung  between  the  acts  of  the  "mystery 
plays,"  were  subsidized  by  Luther,  who  wrote  com- 
positions and  translations  to  their  measure.  Part- 
song  was  simplified,  and  Johan  Walther  compiled 
a  hymnal  of  religious  songs  in  the  vernacular  for 
from  four  to  six  voices.  The  reign  of  rhythmic 
hymn  music  soon  extended  through  Europe. 

Necessarily — except  in  ultra-conservative  locali- 
ties like  Scotland — the  exclusive  use  of  the  Psalms 
(metrical  or  unmetrical)  gave  way  to  religious  lyrics 
inspired  by  occasion.  Clement  Marot  and  Theo- 
dore Beza  wrote  hymns  to  the  music  of  Bach  and 
others,  and  Caesar  Malan  composed  both  hymns 
and  their  melodies.  By  the  beginning  of  the  i8th 
century  the  triumph  of  the    hymn-tune  and  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XVll 

hymnal  for  lay  voices  was  established  for  all  time. 

;)s     H«     H«      *      H*     >K 

In  the  following  pages  no  pretence  is  made  of 
selecting  all  the  best  and  most-used  hymns,  but  the 
purpose  has  been  to  notice  as  many  as  possible  of 
the  standard  pieces — and  a  few  others  which  seem 
to  add  or  re-shape  a  useful  thought  or  introduce  a 
new  strain. 

To  present  each  hymn  with  its  tune  appeared 
the  natural  and  most  satisfactory  way,  as  in  most 
cases  it  is  impossible  to  dissociate  the  two.  The 
melody  is  the  psychological  coefficient  of  the  met- 
rical text.  Without  it  the  verse  of  a  seraph 
would  be  smothered  praise.  Like  a  flower  and 
its  fragrance,  hymn  and  tune  are  one  creature,  and 
stand  for  a  whole  value  and  a  full  effect.  With 
this  normal  combination  a  complete  descriptive 
list  of  the  hymns  and  tunes  would  be  a  historic 
dictionary.  Such  a  book  may  one  day  be  made, 
but  the  present  volume  is  an  attempt  to  the  same 
end  within  easier  limits. 


CHAPTER   I 


HYMNS    OF  PRAISE  AND 
WORSHIP. 


TX 


"TE    DEUM    LAUDAMUS." 

This  famous  church  confession  in  song  was  com-    .  -U- 

posed  A.  D.  387  by  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan,  pro-  ^^I^Vm 

bably  both  words  and  music. 

Te  Deum  laudamus,  Te  Dominum  confitemur^^ 

Te  aeternum  Patrem  omnis  terra  veneratur     Q 

Tibi  omnes  angeli,  tibi  coeli  et  universae  potestates, 

Tibi  cherubim  et  seraphim  inV^cessibiH  voce  proclamant  _^ 

Sanctus,  sanctus  Dominus  Deus  Sabaoth.  ,       (^  K^  C 

In  the  whole  hymn  there  are  thirty  lines.  The 
saying  that  the  early  Roman  hymns  were  echoes 
of  Christian  Greece,  as  the  Greek  hymns  were 
echoes  of  Jerusalem,  is  probably  true,  but  they  were 
only  echoes.  In  A.  D.  252,  St.  Cyprian,  writing  his 
consolatory  epistle*  during  the  plague  in  Car- 
thage, when  hundreds  were  dying  every  day,  says, 
"Ah,  perfect  and  perpetual  bliss!  [in  heaven.] 
There  is  the  glorious  company  of  the   apostles; 

*nepc  Tou  OvrjTOU,    "On  the  Mortality."  l 


2  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

there  is  the  fellowship  of  the  prophets  rejoicing; 
there  is  the  innumerable  multitude  of  martyrs 
crowned."  Which  would  suggest  that  lines  or 
fragments  of  what  afterwards  crystalized  into  the 
formula  of  the  *'Te  Deum"  were  already  familiar  in 
the  Christian  church.     But^t-is^-gerTeraltyfalitrv' cd 

—that  the  tongue  of  Ambrose  gave  the  amhen^-4ts 
final  form.  ^ 

Ambrose  was  born  in  Gaul  about  the  middle  of 
the  fourth  century  and  raised  to  his  bishopric  in 
A.  D.  374.  Very  early  he  saw  and  appreciated  the 
popular  effect  of  musical  sounds,  and  what  an 
evangelical  instrument  a  chorus  of  chanting  voices 
could  be  in  preaching  the  Christian  faith;  and  he 
introduced  the  responsive  singing  of  psalms  and 
sacred  cantos  in  the  worship  of  the  church.  "A 
grand  thing  is  that  singing,  and  nothing  can  stand 
before  it,"  he  said,  when  the  critics  of  his  time 
complained  that  his  innovation  was  sensational. 
That  such  a  charge  could  be  made  against  the 
Ambrosian  mode  of  music,  with  its  slow  move- 
ment and  unmetrical  Hnes,  seems  strange  to  us, 

/but  it  w^as  new — and  conservatism  is  the  same^n 
all  ages. 

The  great  bishop  carried  all  before  him.  His 
school  of  song-worship  prevailed  in  Christian 
Europe  more  than  two  hundred  years.  Most  of 
his  hymns  are  lost,  (the  Benedictine  writers  credit 
him  with  twelve),  but,  judging  by  their  effect  on 
the  powerful  mind  of  Augustine,  their  influence 
among  the  common  people  must  have  been  pro- 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  3 

found,  and  far  more  lasting  than  the  author's  life. 
"Their  voices  sank  into  mine  ears,  and  their  truths 
distilled  into  my  heart,"  wrote  Augustine,  long 
afterwards,  of  these  hymns;  "tears  ran  down,  and 
I  rejoiced  in  them." 

Poetic  tradition  has  dramatized  the  story  of  the 
birth  of  the  "Te  Deum,"  dating  it  on  an  Easter 
Sunday,  and  dividing  the  honor  of  its  composition 
between  Ambrose  and  his  most  eminent  convert. 
It  was  the  day  when  the  bishop  baptized  Augus- 
tine, in  the  presence  of  a  vast  throng  that  crowded 
the  Basilica  of  Milan.  As  if  foreseeing  with  a 
prophet's  eye  that  his  brilliant  candidate  would 
become  one  of  the  ruling  stars  of  Christendom, 
Ambrose  lifted  his  hands  to  heaven  and  chanted 
in  a  holy  rapture, —  y 

We  praise  Thee,  O  God!     We  acknowledge  Thee  to  be  the 

Lord; 
All  the  Earth  doth  worship  Thee,  the  Father  Everlasting. 

He  paused,  and  from  the  lips  of  the  baptized  dis- 
ciple came  the  response, — 

To  Thee  all  the  angels  cry  aloud:  the  heavens  and  all  the 

powers  therein. 
To  Thee  cherubim  and  seraphim  continually  do  cry, 
"Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth; 
Heaven  and  Earth  are  full  of  the  majesty  of  Thy  glory!" 

and  so,  stave  by  stave,  in  alternating  strams,  sprang 
that  day  from  the  inspired  lips  of  Ambrose  and 
Augustine  the  "Te  Deum  Laudamus,"  which  has 
ever  since  been  the  standard  anthem  of  Christian 
praise.  \ 


^^^' 


4  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS   AND   TUNES. 

Whatever  the  foundation  of  the  story,  we  may 
at  least  suppose  the  first  pubHc  singing*  of  the 
great  chant  to  have  been  associated  with  that 
eventful  baptism. 

The  various  anthems,  sentences  and  motets  in 
all  Christian  languages  bearing  the  titles  "Tris- 
agion"  or  "Tersanctus,"  and  "Te  Deum"  are 
taken  from  portions  of  this  royal  hymn.  The  sub- 
lime and  beautiful  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy"  of  Bishop 
T*"''  Heber  was  suggested  by  it. 

THE   TUNE. 

No  echo  remains,  so  far  as  is  known,  of  the 
responsive  chant  actually  sung  by  Ambrose,  but 
one  of  the  best  modern  choral  renderings  of  the 
"Te  Deum"  is  the  one  by  Henry  Smart  in  his 
Morning  and  Evening  Service.  In  an  ordinary 
church  hymnal  it  occupies  seven  pages.  The  staff- 
directions  with  the  music  indicate  the  part  or  cue  of 
the  antiphonal  singers  by  the  words  Decani  (Dec.) 
and  Cantor  (Can.),  meaning  first  the  division  of  the 
choir  on  the  Dean's  side,  and  second  the  division 
/  y    it     .;       on  the  Cantor's  or  Precentor's  side. 

/  .    ^  4^  Henry  Smart  was  one  of  the  five  great  English 

'  ^composers   that   followed   our   American    Mason. 

He  was  born  in  London,  C^t^.-^y^%T2,  and  chose 
music  for  a  profession  in  preference  to  an  oflPered 
commission  in  the  East  Indian  army.     His  talent 

♦The  "Te  Deum"  was  first  sung  in  English  by  the  martyr,  Bishop  Ridley, 
at  Heame  Church,  where  he  was  at  one  time  vicar. 


/A' J 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  5 

as  a  composer,  especially  of  sacred  music,  was 
marvelous,  and,  though  he  became  blind,  his  loss 
of  sight  was  no  more  hindrance  to  his  genius  than 
loss  of  hearing  to  Beethoven. 

No  composer  of  his  time  equalled  Henry  Smart 
as  a  writer  of  music  for  female  voices.  His  can- 
tatas have  been  greatly  admired,  and  his  hymn 
tunes  are  unsurpassed  for  their  purity  and  sweet- 
ness, while  his  anthems,  his  oratorio  of  "Jacob," 
and  indeed  all  that  he  wrote,  show  the  hand  and  the 
inventive  gift  of  a  great  musical  artist. 

He  died  July  10,  1879,  universally  mourned  for 
his  inspired  work,  and  his  amiable  character. 

"ALL   GLORY,    LAUD   AND   HONOR.^' 

Gloria,  Laus  et  Honor. 

This  stately  Latin  hymn  of  the  early  part  of  the 
9th  century  was  composed  in  A.  D.  820,  by  Theo- 
dulph,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  while  a  captive  in  the 
cloister  of  Anjou.  King  Louis  (le  Debonnaire) 
son  of  Charlemagne,  had  trouble  with  his  royal 
relatives,  and  suspecting  Theodulph  to  be  in 
sympathy  with  them,  shut  him  up  in  prison.  A 
pretty  story  told  by  Clichtovius,  an  old  church 
writer  of  A.  D.  1518,  relates  how  on  Palm  Sunday 
the  king,  celebrating  the  feast  with  his  people, 
passed  in  procession  before  the  cloister,  where  the 
face  of  the  venerable  prisoner  at  his  cell  window 
caused  an  involuntary  halt,  and,  in  the  moment  of 
silence,  the  bishop  raised  his  voice  and  sang  this 


0  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

hymn;  and  how  the  dehghted  king  released  the 
singer,  and  restored  him  to  his  bishopric.  This 
tale,  told  after  seven  hundred  years,  is  not  the  only 
legend  that  grew  around  the  hymn  and  its  author, 
but  the  fact  that  he  composed  it  in  the  cloister  of 
Anjou  while  confined  there  is  not  seriously  disputed. 

Gloria,  laus  et  honor  Tibi  sit,  Rex  Christe  Redemptor, 
Cui  puerile  decus  prompsit  Hosanna  pium. 
Israel  Tu  Rex,  Davidis  et  inclyta  proles, 
Nomine  qui  in  Domini  Rex  benedicte  venis 

Gloria,  laus  et  honor. 

Theodulph  was  born  in  Spain,  but  of  Gothic  ped- 
igree, a  child  of  the  race  of  conquerors  who,  in  the 
5th  century,  overran  Southern  Europe.  He  died 
in  821,  but  whether  a  free  man  or  still  a  prisoner 
at  the  time  of  his  death  is  uncertain.  Some 
accounts  allege  that  he  was  poisoned  in  the  cloister. 
The  Roman  church  canonized  him,  and  his  hymn 
is  still  sung  as  a  processional  in  Protestant  as  well 
as  Catholic  churches.  The  above  Latin  lines  are 
the  first  four  of  the  original  seventy-eight.  The 
following  is  J.  M.  Neale's  translation  of  the  portion 
now  in  use: 

All  glory,  laud,  and  honor. 

To  Thee,  Redeemer,  Kingt 
To  whom  the  lips  of  children 

Made  sweet  Hosannas  ring. 

Thou  are  the  King  of  Israel, 

Thou  David's  royal  Son, 
Who  in  the  Lord's  name  comest, 

The  King  and  Blessed  One.         All  gloiy,  etc 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  7 

The  company  of  angels 

Are  praising  Thee  on  high; 
And  mortal  men,  and  all  things 

Created,  make  reply.  All  glory,  etc 

The  people  of  the  Hebrews 

With  palms  before  Thee  wenf, 
Our  praise  and  prayer  and  anthems 

Before  Thee  we  present.  All  glory,  etc. 

To  Thee  before  Thy  Passion 

They  sang  their  hymns  of  praise; 

To  Thee,  now  high  exalted 
Our  melody  we  raise.  All  glory,  etc. 

Thou  didst  accept  their  praises; 

Accept  the  prayers  we  bring, 
Who  in  all  good  delightest. 

Thou  good  and  gracious  King.    All  glory,  etc. 

The  translator,  Rev.  John  Mason  Neale,  D.D., 
was  born  in  London,  Jan.  24,  18 18,  and  graduated 
at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  in  1840.  He  was  a 
prolific  writer,  and  after  taking  holy  orders  he 
held  the  office  of  Warden  of  Sackville  College, 
East  Grimstead,  Sussex.  Best  known  among  his 
published  works  are  Medioeval  Hymns  and  Se- 
quences,  Hymns  for  Children,  Hymns  of  the  East- 
ern Church,  and  The  Rhythms  of  Morlaix.  He 
died  Aug.  6,  1866. 

THE    TUNE. 

There  is  no  certainty  as  to  the  original  tune  of 
Theodulph's  Hymn,  or  how  long  it  survived,  but 
various   modern   composers   have  given   it   music 


,r 


8  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

in  more  or  less  keeping  with  its  character,  notably 
Melchior  Teschner,  whose  harmony,  "  St.  Theo- 
dulph,"  appears  in  the  new  Methodist  Hymnal. 
It  well  represents  the  march  of  the  bishop's  Latin. 
Melchior  Teschner,  a  Prussian  musician,  was 
Precentor  at  Frauenstadt,  Silesia,  about  1613. 

"ALL  PRAISE  TO    THEE,  ETERNAL    LORD." 

Gelohet  Seist  du  'Jesu  Christ. 

This  introduetory  hymn  Qf..woff»h»p,  a  favorite 
Christmas  hymn  in  Germany,  is  ancient,  and 
appears  to  be  a  versification  of  a  Latin  prose 
"Sequence'*  variously  ascribed  to  a  9th  century 
author,  and  to  Gregory  the  Great  in  the  6th 
century.  Its  German  form  is  still  credited  to 
Luther  in  most  hymnals.  Julian  gives  an  earlier 
German  form  (1370)  of  the  "Gelobet,"  but  attri- 
butes all  but  the  first  stanza  to  Luther,  as  the  hymn 
now  stands.  The  following  translation,  printed 
first  in  the  Sabbath  Hymn  Book,  Andover, 
1858,  is  the  one  adopted  by  SchanFin  his  Christian 
in  Song:  ^ 

All  praise  to  Thee,  eternal  Lord, 
Clothed  in  the  garb  of  flesh  and  blood; 
Choosing  a  manger  for  Thy  throne, 
While  worlds  on  worlds  are  Thine  alone! 

Once  did  the  skies  before  Thee  bow; 
A  virgin's  arms  contain  Thee  now; 
Angels,  who  did  in  Thee  rejoice. 
Now  listen  for  Thine  infant  voice. 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  9 

A  little  child,  Thou  art  our  guest, 
That  weary  ones  in  Thee  may  rest; 
Forlorn  and  lowly  in  Thy  birth. 
That  we  may  rise  to  heaven  from  earth. 

Thou  comest  in  the  darksome  night. 
To  make  us  children  of  the  light; 
To  make  us,  in  the  realms  divine. 
Like  Thine  own  angels  round  Thee  shine. 

All  this  for  us  Thy  love  hath  done: 
By  this  to  Thee  our  love  is  won; 
For  this  we  tune  our  cheerful  lays, 
And  shout  our  thanks  in  endless  praise. 

THE  TUNE. 

The  1 8th  century  tune  of  ** Weimar"  (Evan^ 
gelical  Hymnal),  by  Emanuel  Bach,  suits  the 
spiritual  tone  of  the  hymn,  and  suggests  the  Gre- 
gorian dignity  of  its  origin. 

Karl  Philip  Emanuel  Bach,  called  "the  Berlin 
Bach"  to  distinguish  him  from  his  father,  the 
great  Sebastian  Bach  of  Saxe  Weimar,  was  born 
in  Weimar,  March  14, 1714.  He  early  devoted  him- 
self to  music,  and  coming  to  Berlin  when  twenty- 
four  years  old  was  appointed  Chamber  musician 
(Kammer  Musicus)  in  the  Royal  Chapel,  where  he 
often  accompanied  Frederick  the  Great  (who  was 
an  accomplished  flutist)  on  the  harpsichord.  His 
most  numerous  compositions  were  piano  music  but 
he  wrote  a  celebrated  "Sanctus,"and  two  oratorios, 
besides  a  number  of  chorals,  of  which  "Weimar" 
is  one.    He  died  in  Hamburg,  Dec.  14,  1788. 


10  STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 

THE  MAGNIFICAT. 


McyoAwct  17  ^XV  h^'^  "^^^  Kvptov. 

Magnificat  anima  mea  Dominum, 

Et  exultavit  Spiritus  meus  in  Deo  salutari  meo. 

Luke  1 :  46-55. 

We  can  date  with  some  certainty  the  hymn  itself 
composed  by  the  Virgin  Mary,  but  when  it  first 
became  a  song  of  the  Christian  Church  no  one 
can  tell.  Its  thanksgiving  may  have  found  tone 
among  the  earliest  martyrs,  who,  as  Pliny  tells 
us,  sang  hymns  in  their  secret  worship.  We  can 
only  trace  it  back  to  the  oldest  chant  music,  when 
it  was  doubtless  sung  by  both  the  Eastern  and 
Western  Churches.  In  the  rude  liturgies  of  the 
4th  and  5th  centuries  it  must  have  begun  to  assume 
ritual  form;  but  it  remained  for  the  more  modem 
school  of  composers  hundreds  of  years  later  to 
illustrate  the  "Magnificat"  with  the  melody  of  art 
and  genius.  Superseding  the  primitive  unisonous 
plain-song,  the  old  parallel  concords,  and  the 
simple  faburden  (faux  bourdon)  counterpoint 
that  succeeded  Gregory,  they  taught  how  musical 
tones  can  better  assist  worship  with  the  beauty 
of  harmony  and  the  precision  of  scientific  taste. 
Musicians  in  Italy,  France,  Germany  and  England 
have  contributed  their  scores  to  this  inspired 
hymn.  Some  of  them  still  have  place  in  the 
hymnals,  a  noble  one  especially  by  the  blind  Eng- 
lish tone-master,  Henry  Smart,  author  of  the  ora- 
torio of  * 'Jacob."     None,  however,  have  equaled 


HYMNS   OF   PRAISE   AND    WORSHIP.  II 

the  work  of  Handel.  His  "Magnificat"  was  one 
of  his  favorite  productions,  and  he  borrowed  strains 
from  it  in  several  of  his  later  and  lesser  productions. 

George  Frederic  Handel,  author  of  the  immor- 
tal "Messiah,"  was  born  at  Halle,  Saxony,  in 
1685,  and  died  in  London  in  1759.  The  musical 
bent  of  his  genius  was  apparent  almost  from  his 
infancy.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  earning 
his  living  with  his  violin,  and  writing  his  first 
opera.  After  a  sojourn  in  Italy,  he  settled  in 
Hanover  as  Chapel  Master  to  the  Elector,  who 
afterwards  became  the  English  king,  George  I. 
The  friendship  of  the  king  and  several  of  his 
noblemen  drew  him  to  England,  where  he  spent 
forty-seven  years  and  composed  his  greatest  works. 

He  wrote  three  hymn-tunes  (it  is  said  at  the 
request  of  a  converted  actress),  "Canons,"  "Fitz- 
william,"  and  "Gopsall,"  the  first  an  invitation, 
"Sinners,  Obey  the  Gospel  Word,"  the  second  a 
meditation,"  O  Love  Divine,  How  Sweet  Thou  Art," 
and  the  third  a  resurrection  song  to  Welsey's 
words  "Rejoice,  the  Lord  is  King."  This  last  still 
survives  in  some  hymnals. 

THE    DOXOLOGIES. 

Be  Thou,  O  God,  exalted  high. 
And  as  Thy  glory  fills  the  sky 
So  let  it  be  on  earth  displayed 
Till  Thou  art  here  as  there  obeyed. 


12  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

This  sublime  quatrain,  attributed  to  Nahum 
Tate,  like  the  Lord's  Prayer,  is  suited  to  all  occasions, 
to  all  Christian  denominations,  and  to  all  places 
and  conditions  of  men.  It  has  been  translated 
into  all  civilized  languages,  and  has  been  rising 
to  heaven  for  many  generations  from  congregations 
round  the  globe  wherever  the  faith  of  Christendom 
has  built  its  altars.  This  doxology  is  the  first 
stanza  of  a  sixteen  line  hymn  (possibly  longer 
originally),  the  rest  of  which  is  forgotten. 

Nahum  Tate  was  born  in  Dublin,  in  1652,  and 
educated  there  at  Trinity  College.  He  was  ap- 
pointed poet-laureate  by  King  William  III.  in 
1690,  and  it  was  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Nicholas 
Brady  that  he  executed  his  "New"  metrical  version 
of  the  Psalms.  The  entire  Psalter,  with  an  appen- 
dix of  Hymns,  was  licensed  by  William  and  Mary 
and  published  In  1703.  The  hymns  in  the  volume 
are  all  by  Tate.    He  died  in  London,  Aug.  12,  171 7. 

Rev.  Nicholas  Brady,  D.  D.,  was  an  Irishman, 
son  of  an  officer  in  the  royal  army,  and  was  born 
at  Bandon,  County  of  Cork,  Oct.  28,  1659.  He 
studied  In  the  Westminister  School  at  Oxford, 
but  afterwards  entered  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
where  he  graduated  in  1685.  William  made  him 
Queen  Mary's  Chaplain.    He  died  May  20,  1726. 

The  other  nearly  contemporary  form  of  doxol- 
ogy Is  in  common  use,  but  though  elevated  and 
devotional  in  spirit.  It  cannot  be  universal,  owing 
to  Its  credal  line  being  objectionable  to  non-Trini- 
tarian Protestants: 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  I3 

Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. 
Praise  Him  all  creatures  here  below, 
Praise  Him  above,  ye  heavenly  host. 
Praise  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost. 

The  author,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ken,  was  born  in 
Berkhampstead,  Hertfordshire,  Eng.,  July,  1637, 
and  was  educated  at  Winchester  School,  Hertford 
College,  and  New  College,  Oxford.  In  1662  he 
took  holy  orders,  and  seventeen  years  later  the  king 
(Charles  H.)  appointed  him  chaplain  to  his  sister 
Mary,  Princess  of  Orange.  Later  the  king,  just 
before  his  death,  made  him  Bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells. 

Like  John  the  Baptist,  and  Bourdaloue,  and 
Knox,  he  was  a  faithful  spiritual  monitor  and 
adviser  during  all  his  days  at  court.  **I  must  go  in 
and  hear  Ken  tell  me  my  faults,"  the  king  used  to 
say  at  chapel  time.  The  "good  little  man"  (as 
he  called  the  bishop)  never  lost  the  favor  of  the 
dissipated  monarch.  As  Macaulay  says,  "Of  all 
the  prelates,  he  liked  Ken  the  best." 

Under  James,  the  Papist,  Ken  was  a  loyal 
subject,  though  once  arrested  as  one  of  the  "seven 
bishops"  for  his  opposition  to  the  king's  religion, 
and  he  kept  his  oath  of  allegiance  so  firmly  that  it 
cost  him  his  place.  William  HL  deprived  him  of  his 
bishopic,  and  he  retired  in  poverty  to  a  home 
kindly  offered  him  by  Lord  Viscount  Weymouth 
in  Longleat,near  Frome,in  Somersetshire,  where  he 
spent  a  serene  and  beloved  old  age.  He  died  aet. 
seventy-four,  March   17,  1711    (N.  S.),   and   was 


14  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

carried  to  his  grave,  according  to  his  request,  by 
"  six  of  the  poorest  men  in  the  parish." 

His  great  doxology  is  the  refrain  or  final  stanza 
of  each  of  his  three  long  hymns,  "Morning," 
"Evening"  and  "Midnight,"  printed  in  a  Prayer 
Manual  for  the  use  of  the  students  of  Winchester 
College.  The  "Evening  Hymn"  drew  scenic  in- 
spiration, it  is  told,  from  the  lovely  view  in 
Horningsham  Park  at  "Heaven's  Gate  Hill," 
while  walking  to  and  from  church. 

Another  four-line  doxology,  adopted  probably 
from  Dr.  Hatfield  (i 807-1 883),  is  almost  entirely 
superseded  by  Ken's  stanza,  being  of  even  more 
pronounced  credal  character. 

To  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son, 
And  God  the  Spirit,  Three  in  One. 
Be  honor,  praise  and  glory  given 
By  all  on  earth  and  all  in  heaven. 

The  Methodist  Hymnal  prints  a  collection  of 
ten  doxologies,  two  by  Watts,  one  by  Charles 
Wesley,  one  by  John  Wesley,  one  by  William 
Goode,  one  by  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  one  attributed 
to  "Tate  and  Brady,"  one  by  Robert  Hawkes, 
and  the  one  by  Ken  above  noted.  These  are  all 
technically  and  intentionally  doxologies.  To  give 
a  history  of  doxologies  in  the  general  sense  of  the 
word  would  carry  one  through  every  Christian  age 
and  language  and  end  with  a  concordance  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms. 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  I5 

THE    TUNE. 

Few  would  think  of  any  music  more  appropriate 
to  a  standard  doxology  than  *'01d  Hundred." 
This  grand  Gregorian  harmony  has  been  claimed 
to  be  Luther's  production,  while  some  have 
believed  that  Louis  Bourgeois,  editor  of  the  French 
Genevan  Psalter,  who  perished  in  the  Massacre  of 
St.  Bartholomew,  composed  the  tune,  but  the 
weight  of  evidence  seems  to  indicate  that  it  was 
the  work  of  Guillaume  le  Franc,  (William  Franck 
or  WiUiam  the  Frenchman,)  of  Rouen,  in  France, 
who  founded  a  music  school  in  Geneva,  1541. 
He  was  Chapel  Master  there,  but  removed  to 
Lausanne,  where  he  played  in  the  Catholic  choir 
and  wrote  the  tunes  for  an  Edition  of  Ma- 
rot's  and  Beza's  Psalms.  Died  in  Lausanne, 
1570. 

^THE  LORD  DESCENDED  FROM  ABOVE." 

A  flash  of  genuine  inspiration  was  vouchsafed 
to  Thomas  Sternhold  when  engaged  with  Rev. 
Jehn  Hopkins  in  versifying  the  Eighteenth  Psalm. 
The  ridicule  heaped  upon  Sternhold  and  Hopkins's 
psalmbook  has  always  stopped,  and  sobered  into 
admiration  and  even  reverence  at  the  two  stanzas 
beginning  with  this  leading  line — 

The  Lord  descended  from  above 
And  bowed  the  heavens  most  high, 

And  underneath  His  feet  He  cast 
The  darkness  of  the  sky. 


/ 


l6  STORY  OF   THE    HYMNS   AND   TUNES. 

On  cherub  and  on  cherubim 

Full  royally  He  rode, 
And  on  the  wings  of  mighty  winds 

Came  flying  all  abroad. 

Thomas  Sternhold  was  born  in  Gloucester- 
shire, Eng.  He  was  Groom  of  the  Robes  to  Henry 
Vni,  and  Edward  VI.,  but  is  only  remembered  for 
his  P^Ui^pMMlinef^  in  1562,  thirteen  years  after 
his  death  in  1549. 

THE    TUNE. 

"Nottingham"  (now  sometimes  entitled  "St. 
Magnus")  is  a  fairly  good  echo  of  the  grand  verses, 
a  dignified  but  spirited  choral  in  A  flat.  Jeremiah 
Clark,  the  composer,  was  born  in  London,  1670. 
Educated  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  he  became  organ- 
ist of  Winchester  College  and  finally  to  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  where  he  was  appointed  Gentleman  of 
the  Chapel.    He  died  July,  1707. 

The  tune  of  "Majesty"  by  William  Billings  will 
be  noticed  in  a  later  chapter. 

TALLIS*    EVENING     HYMN. 

Glory  to  Thee,  my  God,  this  night 
For  all  the  blessings  of  the  light. 
Keep  me,  O  keep  me,  King  of  kings, 
Under  Thine  own  Almighty  wings. 

This  stanza  begins  the  second  of  Bp.  Ken's  three 
beautiful  hymn-prayers  in  his  Manual  mentioned 
on  a  previous  page, 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  \J 

THE    TUNE. 

For  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  years 
devout  people  have  enjoyed  that  melody  of 
mingled  dignity  and  sweetness  known  as  "Tallis' 
Evening  Hymn." 

Thomas  Tallis  was  an  Englishman,  born  about 
1520,  and  at  an  early  age  was  a  boy  chorister  at 
St.  Paul's.  After  his  voice  changed,  he  played  the 
organ  at  Waltham  Abbey,  and  some  time  later 
was  chosen  organist  royal  to  Queen  Elizabeth. 
His  pecuniary  returns  for  his  talent  did  not  make 
him  rich,  though  he  bore  the  title  after  1542  of 
Gentleman  of  the  Chapel  Royal,  for  his  stipend  was 
sevenpence  a  day.  Some  gain  may  possibly  have 
come  to  him,  however,  from  his  publication,  late 
in  life,  under  the  queen's  special  patent,  of  a  col- 
lection of  hymns  and  tunes. 

He  wrote  much  and  was  the  real  founder  of  the 
English  Church  school  of  composers,  but  though 
St.  Paul's  was  at  one  time  well  supplied  with  his 
motets  and  anthems,  it  is  impossible  now  to  give  a 
list  of  Tallis'  compositions  for  the  Church.  His 
music  was  written  originally  to  Latin  words,  but 
v/hen,  after  the  Reformation,  the  use  of  vernacular 
hymns,  was  introduced  he  probably  adapted  his 
scores  to  either  language. 

It  is  inferred  that  he  was  in  attendance  on  Queen 
Elizabeth  at  her  palace  in  Greenwich  when  he 
died,  for  he  was  buried  in  the  old  parish  church 
there  in  November,  1585.    The  rustic  rhymer  who 


l8  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

indited  his  epitaph  evidently  did  the  best  he  could 
to  embalm  the  virtues  of  the  great  musician  as  a 
man,  a  citizen,  and  a  husband: 

Enterred  here  doth  \y  a  worthy  wyght, 
Who  for  long  time  in  musick  bore  the  bell: 

His  name  to  shew  was  Thomas  Tallis  hyght; 
In  honest  vertuous  lyfF  he  dyd  excell. 

He  served  long  tyme  in  chappel  with  grete  prayse, 
Power  sovereygnes  reignes,  (a  thing  not  often  seene); 

I  mean  King  Henry  and  Prince  Edward's  dayes, 
Quene  Marie,  and  Elizabeth  our  quene. 

He  maryed  was,  though  children  he  had  none, 
And  lyv'd  in  love  full  three  and  thirty  yeres 

With  loyal  spowse,  whose  name  yclept  was  Jone, 
Who,  here  entombed,  him  company  now  bears. 

As  he  dyd  lyve,  so  also  dyd  he  dy. 

In  myld  and  quyet  sort,  O  happy  man! 
To  God  ful  oft  for  mercy  did  he  cry; 

Wherefore  he  lyves,  let  Deth  do  what  he  can. 

"THE    GOD    OP    ABRAHAM   PRAISE. " 

This  is  one  of  the  thanksgivings  of  the  ages. 

The  God  of  Abraham  praise. 

Who  reigns  enthroned  above; 
Ancient  of  everlasting  days, 

And  God  of  love. 
Jehovah,  Great  I  AM! 

By  earth  and  heaven  confessed, 
I  bow  and  bless  the  sacred  Name, 

Porever  blest. 

The  hymn,  of  twelve  eight-line  stanzas,  is  too  long 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  IQ 

to  quote  entire,  but  is  found  in  both  the  Plymouth 
and  Methodist  Hymnals. 

Thomas  Olivers,  born  in  Tregynon,  near  New- 
town, Montgomeryshire,  Wales,  1725,  was,  ac- 
cording to  local  testimony,  "the  worst  boy  known 
in  all  that  country,  for  thirty  years.''  It  is  more 
charitable  to  say  that  he  was  a  poor  fellow  who 
had  no  friends.  Left  an  orphan  at  five  years  of 
age,  he  was  passed  from  one  relative  to  another 
until  all  were  tired  of  him,  and  he  was  "bound 
out"  to  a  shoemaker.  Almost  inevitably  the 
neglected  lad  grew  up  wicked,  for  no  one  appeared 
to  care  for  his  habits  and  morals,  and  as  he  sank 
lower  in  the  various  vices  encouraged  by  bad 
company,  there  were  more  kicks  for  him  than 
helping  hands.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  his  repu- 
tation in  the  town  had  become  so  unsavory  that  he 
was  forced  to  shift  for  himself  elsewhere. 

Providence  led  him,  when  shabby  and  penniless, 
to  the  old  seaport  town  of  Bristol,  where  Whitefield 
was  at  that  time  preaching,*  and  there  the  young 
sinner  heard  the  divine  message  that  lifted  him  to 
his  feet. 

"  When  that  sermon  began, "  he  said,  "  I  was  one 
of  the  most  abandoned  and  profligate  young  men 
living;  before  it  ended  I  was  a  new  creature.  The 
world  was  all  changed  for  Tom  Olivers." 

His  new  life,  thus  begun,  lasted  on  earth  more 
than  sixty  useful  years.     He  left  a  shining  record 

♦Whitefield 's  text  was,  "Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?"  Zach. 
3:2. 


20  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

as  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  and  died  in  the 
triumphs  of  faith,  November,  1799.  Before  he 
passed  away  he  saw  at  least  thirty  editions  of  his 
hymn  published,  but  the  soul-music  it  has  awakened 
among  the  spiritual  children  of  Abraham  can  only 
reach  him  in  heaven.  Some  of  its  words  have  been 
the  last  earthly  song  of  many,  as  they  were  of  the 
eminent  Methodist  theologian,  Richard  Watson — 

I  shall  behold  His  face, 
I  shall  His  power  adore, 
And  sing  the  wonders  of  His  grace 
Forevermore. 

THE    TUNE. 

The  precise  date  of  the  tune  "Leoni"  is  un- 
known, as  also  the  precise  date  of  the  hymn.  The 
story  is  that  Olivers  visited  the  great  "Duke's 
Place"  Synagogue,  Aldgate,  London,  and  heard 
Meyer  Lyon  (Leoni)  sing  the  Yigdal  or  long 
doxology  to  an  air  so  noble  and  impressive  that 
it  haunted  him  till  he  learned  it  and  fitted  to  it  the 
sublime  stanzas  of  his  song.  Lyon,  a  noted  Jewish 
musician  and  vocalist,  was  chorister  of  this 
London  Synagogue  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
1 8th  century  and  the  Yigdal  was  a  portion  ol 
the  Hebrew  Liturgy  composed  in  medieval  times, 
it  is  said,  by  Daniel  Ben  Judah.  The  fact  that 
the  Methodist  leaders  took  Olivers  from  his 
bench  to  be  one  of  their  preachers  answers  any 
suggestion  that  the  converted  shoemaker  copied 
the  Jewish  hymn  and  put  Christian  phrases  in  it. 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  21 

He  knew  nothing  of  Hebrew,  and  had  he  known 
it,  a  Hteral  translation  of  the  Yigdal  will  show 
hardly  a  similarity  to  his  evangelical  lines.  Only 
the  music  as  Leoni  sang  it  prompted  his  own  song, 
and  he  gratefully  put  the  singer's  name  to  it. 
Montgomery,  who  admired  the  majestic  style  of 
the  hymn,  and  its  glorious  imagery,  said  of  its 
author,  "The  man  who  wrote  that  hymn  must 
have  had  the  finest  ear  imaginable,  for  on  account 
of  the  peculiar  measure,  none  but  a  person  of  equal 
musical  and  poetic  taste  could  have  produced  the 
harmony  perceptible  in  the  verse." 

Whether  the  hymnist  or  some  one  else  fitted  the 
hymn  to  the  tune,  the  "fine  ear"  and  "poetic 
taste"  that  Montgomery  applauded  are  evident 
enough  in  the  union. 

"O  WORSHIP  THE  KING  ALL  GLORIOUS  ABOVE." 

This  hymn  of  Sir  Robert  Grant  has  become 
almost  universally  known,  and  is  often  used  as 
a  morning  or  opening  service  song  by  choirs  and 
congregations  of  all  creeds.  The  favorite  stanzas 
are  the  first  four — 

O   worship  the  King  all-glorious  above, 
And  gratefully  sing  His  wonderful  love — 
Our  Shield  and  Defender,  the  Ancient  of  Days, 
Pavilioned  in  splendor,  and  girded  with  praise. 

O  tell  of  His  might,  and  sing  of  His  grace, 
Whose  robe  is  the  light,  whose  canopy,  space; 
His  chariots  of  wrath  the  deep  thunder-clouds  form. 
And  dark  is  His  path  on  the  wings  of  the  storm. 


22  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Thy  bountiful  care  what  tongue  can  recite  ? 

It  breathes  in  the  air,  it  shines  in  the  light, 

It  streams  from  the  hills,  it  descends  to  the  plain, 

And  sweetly  distils  in  the  dew  and  the  rain. 

Frail  children  of  dust,  and  feeble  as  frail. 
In  Thee  do  we  trust,  nor  find  Thee  to  fail. 
Thy  mercies  how  tender!     how  firm  to  the  end! 
Our  Maker,  Defender,  Redeemer,  and  Friend! 

This  is  a  model  hymn  of  worship.  Like  the 
previous  one  by  Thomas  Olivers,  it  is  strongly 
Hebrew  in  its  tone  and  diction,  and  drew  its  in- 
spiration from  the  Old  Testament  Psalter,  the 
text-book  of  all  true  praise-song. 

Sir  Robert  Grant  was  born  in  the  county  of  In- 
verness, Scotland,  in  1785,  and  educated  at  Cam- 
bridge. He  was  many  years  member  of  Parliament 
for  Inverness  and  a  director  in  the  East  India 
Company,  and  1834  was  appointed  Governor  of 
Bombay.  He  died  at  Dapoorie,  Western  India, 
July  9, 1838. 

Sir  Robert  was  a  man  of  deep  Christian  feeling 
and  a  poetic  mind.  His  writings  were  not  numer- 
ous, but  their  thoughtful  beauty  endeared  him  to 
a  wide  circle  of  readers.  In  1839  his  brother. 
Lord  Glenelg,  published  twelve  of  his  poetical 
pieces,  and  a  new  edition  in  1868.  The  volume 
contains  the  more  or  less  well-known  hymns — 

The  starry  firmament  on  high, 

Saviour,  when  in  dust  to  Thee, 

and — 

When  gathering  clouds  around  I  view. 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  23 

Sir  Robert's  death,  when  scarcely  past  his  prime, 
would  indicate  a  decHne  by  reason  of  illness,  and 
perhaps  other  serious  affliction,  that  justified  the 
poeticlicense  in  the  submissive  verses  beginning  — 

Thy  mercy  heard  my  infant  prayer. 
****** 

And  now  in  age  and  grief  Thy  name 
Does  still  my  languid  heart  inflame, 

And  bow  my  faltering  knee. 
Oh,  yet  this  bosom  feels  the  fire, 
This  trembling  hand  and  drooping  lyre 

Have  yet  a  strain  for  Thee. 

THE  TUNE. 

Several  musical  pieces  written  to  the  hymn, 
"O,  Worship  the  King,"  have  appeared  in  church 
psalm-books,  and  others  have  been  borrowed  for 
it,  but  the  one  oftenest  sung  to  its  words  is  Haydn's 
"Lyons."  Its  vigor  and  spirit  best  fit  it  for 
Grant's  noble  lyric. 

"MAJESTIC  SWEETNESS  SITS  ENTHRONED." 

Rev.  Samuel  Stennett  D.D.,the  author  of  this 
hymn,  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Joseph  Stennett,  and 
grandson  of  Rev.  Joseph  Stennett  D.  D.,  who 
wrote — 

Another  six  days'  work  is  done. 

Another  Sabbath  is  begun. 

All  were  Baptist  ministers.     Samuel  was  born  in 
1727,  at  Exeter,  Eng.,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 


24  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

one  became  his  father's  assistant,  and  subse- 
quently his  successor  over  the  church  in  Little 
Wild     Street,     Lincoln's     Inn    Fields,    London. 

Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned 

Upon  the  Saviour's  brow; 
His  head  with  radiant  glories  crowned, 

His  lips  with  grace  o'erflow. 

To  Him  I  owe  my  life  and  breath 

And  all  the  joys  I  have; 
He  makes  me  triumph  over  death, 

He  saves  me  from  the  grave. 

Since  from  His  bounty  I  receive 

Such  proofs  of  love  divine, 
Had  I  a  thousand  hearts  to  give, 

Lord,  they  should  all  be  Thine. 

Samuel  Stennett  was  one  of  the  most  respected 
and  influential  ministers  of  the  Dissenting  per- 
suasion, and  a  confidant  of  many  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished statesmen  of  his  time.  The  celebrated 
John  Howard  was  his  parishoner  and  intimate 
friend.  His  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  be- 
stowed upon  him  by  Aberdeen  University.  Besides 
his  theological  writings  he  composed  and  published 
thirty-eight  hymns,  among  them — 

On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand. 
When  two  or  three  with  sweet  accord. 

Here  at  Thy  table.  Lord,  we  meet, 
and — 

"  'Tis  finished,"  so  the  Saviour  cried. 


A 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  25 

"Majestic  Sweetness"  began  the  third  stanza  of 
his  longer  hymn — 

To  Christ  the  Lord  let  every  tongue. 
Dr.  Stennett  died  in  London,  Aug.  24,  1795. 

THE    TUNE. 

For  fifty  or  sixty  years  "Ortonville"  has  been 
Hnked  with  this  devout  hymn,  and  still  main- 
tains its  fitting  fellowship.  The  tune,  composed 
in  1830,  was  the  work  of  Thomas  Hastings,  and 
is  almost  as  well-known  and  as  often  sung 
as  his  immortal  **Toplady."  (See  chap.  3,  "Rock 
of  Ages." 

"ALL  HAIL  THE  POWER  OF  JESUS'  NAME." 

This  inspiring  lyric  of  praise  appears  to  have 
been  written  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Its  author,  the  Rev.  Edward  Perronet, 
son  of  Rev.  Vincent  Perronet,  Vicar  of  Shoreham, 
Eng.,  was  a  man  of  great  faith  and  humility  but 
zealous  in  his  convictions,  sometimes  to  his  serious 
expense.  He  was  born  in  1721,  and,  though 
eighteen  years  younger  than  Charles  Wesley,  the 
two  became  bosom  friends,  and  it  was  under  the 
direction  of  the  Wesleys  that  Perronet  became  a 
preacher  in  the  evangelical  movement.  Lady 
Huntingdon  later  became  his  patroness,  but  some 
needless  and  imprudent  expressions  in  a  satirical 
poem,  "The  Mitre,"  revealing  his  hostility  to  the 
union  of  church  and  state,  cost  him  her  favor, 


26  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

and  his  contention  against  John  Wesley's  law  that 
none  but  the  regular  parish  ministers  had  the  right 
to  administer  the  sacraments,  led  to  his  complete 
separation  from  both  the  Wesleys.  He  subse- 
quently became  the  pastor  of  a  small  church  of 
Dissenters  in  Canterbury,  where  he  died,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1792.  His  piety  uttered  itself  when  near  his 
happy  death,  and  his  last  words  were  a  Gloria. 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name! 

Let  angels  prostrate  fall; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 

To  crown  Him  Lord  of  all. 

Ye  seed  of  Israel's  chosen  race, 

Ye  ransomed  of  the  fall. 
Hail  Him  Who  saves  you  by  His  grace, 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all. 

Sinners,  whose  love  can  ne'er  forget 

The  wormwood  and  the  gall, 
Go,  spread  your  trophies  at  His  feet. 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all. 

Let  every  tribe  and  every  tongue 

That  bound  creation's  call. 
Now  shout  the  universal  song. 

The  crowned  Lord  of  all. 


Withrfwo  disused  stanzas  omitted,  the  hymn  as  it 
stands  differs  from  the  original  chiefly  in  the  last 
stanza,  though  in  the  second  the  initial  line  is  now 
transposed  to  read — 

Ye  chosen  seed  of  Israel's  race. 
The  fourth  stanza  now  reads — 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  27 

Let  every  kindred,  every  tribe 

On  this  terrestrial  ball 
To  Him  all  majesty  ascribe, 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all. 

And  what  is  now  the  favorite  last  stanza  is  the  one 
added  by  Dr.  Rippon — 

O  that  with  yonder  sacred  throng 

We  at  His  feet  may  fall, 
And  join  the  everlasting  song. 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all. 

THE    TUNE. 

Everyone  now  calls  it  "Old  Coronation,"  and  it 
is  entitled  to  the  adjective  by  this  time,  being  con- 
sidererably  more  than  a  hundred  years  of  age. 
It  was  composed  in  the  very  year  of  Perronet's 
death  and  one  wonders  just  how  long  the  hymn 
and  tune  waited  before  they  came  together;  for 
Heaven  evidently  meant  them  to  be  wedded  for  all 
time.  This  is  an  American  opinion,  and  no 
reflection  on  the  earlier  English  melody  of  "  Miles 
Lane,"  composed  during  Perronet's  lifetime  by 
William  Shrubsole  and  published  with  the  words 
in  1780  in  the  Gospel  Magazine.  There  is  also  a 
fine  processional  tune  sung  in  the  English  Church 
to  Perronet's  hymn. 

The  author  of  "  Coronation  "  was  Oliver  Holden, 
a  self-taught  musician,  born  in  Shirley,  Mass., 
1765,  and  bred  to  the  carpenter's  trade.  The  little 
pipe  organ  on  which  tradition  says  he  struck  the 
first  notes  of  the  famous  tune  is  now  in  the  Histor- 


28  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

ical  rooms  of  the  Old  State  House,  Boston,  placed 
there  by  its  late  owner,  Mrs.  Fanny  Tyler,  the  old 
musician's  granddaughter.  Its  tones  are  as  mel- 
low as  ever,  and  the  times  that  "Coronation*'  has 
been  played  upon  it  by  admiring  visitors  would  far 
outnumber  the  notes  of  its  score. 

Holden  wrote  a  number  of  other  hymn-tunes, 
among  which  "Cowper,"  "Confidence,"  and 
"Concord"  are  remembered,  but  none  of  them 
had  the  wings  of  "Coronation,"  his  American 
"Te  Deum."  His  first  published  collection  was 
entitled  The  American  Harmony^  and  this  was 
followed  by  the  Union  Harmony,  and  the  Wor- 
cester Collection.  He  also  wrote  and  published 
"Mt.  Vernon,"  and  several  other  patriotic  anthems, 
mainly  for  special  occasions,  to  some  of  which  he 
supplied  the  words.  He  was  no  hymnist,  though 
he  did  now  and  then  venture  into  sacred  metre. 
The  new  Methodist  Hymnal  preserves  a  simple 
four-stanza  specimen  of  his  experiments  in  verse: 

They  who  seek  the  throne  of  grace 
Find  that  throne  in  every  place: 
If  we  lead  a  life  of  prayer 
God  is  present  everywhere. 

Sacred  music,  however,  was  the  good  man's  pas- 
sion to  the  last.    He  died  in  1844. 

"Such  beautiful  themes!"  he  whispered  on  his 
death  bed,  "Such  beautiful  themes!  But  I  can 
write  no  more." 

The  enthusiasm  always  and  everywhere  aroused 
by  the  singing  of  "Coronation,"  dates  from  the 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP. 


29 


time  it  first  went  abroad  in  America  in  its  new 
wedlock  of  music  and  words.  "This  tune,"  says 
an  accompanying  note  over  the  score  in  the  old 
Carmina  Sacra,  "was  a  great  favorite  with  the  late 
Dr.  Dwight  of  Yale  College  (1798).  It  was  often 
sung  by  the  college  choir,  while  he,  catching,  as  it 
were,  the  music  of  the  heavenly  world,  would  join 
them,  and  lead  with  the  most  ardent  devotion." 

"AWAKE  AND  SING  THE   SONG." 


This  hymn  of  six  stanzas  is  abridged  from  a 
longer  one  indited  by  the  Rev.  William  Hammond, 
and  published  in  Lady  Huntingdon  s  Hymn-book. 
It  was  much  in  use  in  early  Methodist  revivals. 
It  appears  now  as  it  was  slightly  altered  by  Rev. 
Martin  Madan — 

Awake  and  sing  the  song 

Of  Moses  and  the  Lamb; 
Join  every  heart  and  every  tongue 

To  praise  the  Savior's  name. 

****** 

The  sixth  verse  is  a  variation  of  one  of  Watts* 
hymns,  and  was  added  in  the  Brethren  s  Hymn- 
hooky  1801 — 

There  shall  each  heart  and  tongue 

His  endless  praise  proclaim, 
And  sweeter  voices  join  the  song 

Of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 

The  Rev.  William  Hammond  was  born  Jan.  6, 
1 719,  at  Battle,  Sussex,  Eng.,  and  educated  at  St. 


30  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

John's  College,  Cambridge.  Early  in  his  minis- 
terial life  he  was  a  Calvinistic  Methodist,  but 
ultimately  joined  the  Moravians.  Died  in  London, 
Aug.  19,  1793.  ^^^  collection  of  Psalms  and 
Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  was  published  in  1745. 
The  Rev.  Martin  Madan,  son  of  Col.  Madan, 
was  born  1726.  He  founded  Lock  Hospital,  Hyde 
Park,  and  long  officiated  as  its  chaplain.  As  a 
preacher  he  was  popular,  and  his  reputation  as  a 
composer  of  music  was  considerable.  There  is 
no  proof  that  he  wrote  any  original  hymns,  but 
he  amended,  pieced  and  expanded  the  work  of 
others.    Died  in  1770. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  hymn  has  had  a  variety  of  musical  inter- 
pretations. The  more  modern  piece  is  "  St.  Philip, " 
by  Edward  John  Hopkins,  Doctor  of  Music,  born 
at  Westminster,  London,  June  30,  18 18.  From  a 
member  of  the  Chapel  Royal  boy  choir  he  became 
organist  of  the  Michtam  Church,  Surrey,  and 
afterwards  of  the  Temple  Church,  London.  Re- 
ceived his  Doctor's  degree  from  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  in  1882. 

"CROWN  HIS  HEAD  WITH  ENDLESS  BLESSING. " 

The  writer  of  this  hymn  was  William  Goode, 
who  helped  to  found  the  English  Church  Missionary 
Society,  and  was  for  twenty  years  the  Secretary  of 
the  "Society  for  the  Relief  of  Poor  Pious  Clergy- 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  3 1 

men."  For  celebrating  the  praise  of  the  Saviour,  he 
seems  to  have  been  of  Hke  spirit  and  genius  v^ath 
Perronet.  He  was  born  in  Buckingham,  Eng., 
April  2,  1762;  studied  for  the  ministry  and  became 
a  curate,  successor  of  WilHam  Romaine.  His 
spiritual  maturity  was  early,  and  his  habits  of 
thouo;ht  were  formed  amid  associations  such  as 
the  young  Wesleys  and  Whitefield  sought.  Like 
them,  even  in  his  student  days  he  proved  his  aspi- 
ration for  purer  religious  life  by  an  evangelical  zeal 
that  cost  him  the  ridicule  of  many  of  his  school- 
fellows, but  the  meetings  for  conference  and  prayer 
Vv^hich  he  organized  among  them  were  not  unat- 
tended, and  were  lasting  and  salutary  in  their  effect. 
Jesus  was  the  theme  of  his  life  and  song,  and 
was  his  last  word.     He  died  in   1816. 

Crown  His  head  with  endless  blessing 

Who  in  God  the  Father's  name 
With  compassion  never  ceasing 

Comes  salvation  to  proclaim. 
Hail,  ye  saints  w^ho  know  His  favor, 

Who  within  His  gates  are  found, 
Hail,  ye  saints,  th'  exalted  Saviour, 

Let  His  courts  with  praise  resound. 

THE    TUNE. 

"Haydn,"  bearing  the  name  of  its  great  com- 
poser, is  in  several  important  hymnals  the  chosen 
music  for  WiUiam  Goode's  devout  words.  Its 
strain  and  spirit  are  lofty  and  melodious  and  in 
entire  accord  with  the  pious  poet's  praise. 


32  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Joseph  Haydn,  son  of  a  poor  wheelwright,  was 
born  1732,  in  Rohron,  a  village  on  the  borders  of 
Hungary  and  Austria.  His  precocity  of  musical 
talent  was  such  that  he  began  composing  at  the 
age  of  ten  years.  Prince  Esterhazy  discovered  his 
genius  when  he  was  poor  and  friendless,  and  his 
fortune  was  made.  While  Music  Master  for  the 
Prince's  Private  Chapel  (twenty  years)  he  wrote 
many  of  his  beautiful  symphonies  which  placed  him 
among  the  foremost  in  that  class  of  music.  In- 
vited to  England,  he  received  the  Doctor's  degree 
at  Oxford,  and  composed  his  great  oratorio  of 
"The  Creation,"  besides  his  "Twelve  Grand 
Symphonies,"  and  a  long  list  of  minor  musical 
works  secular  and  sacred.  His  invention  was  in- 
exhaustible. 

Haydn  seems  to  have  been  a  sincerely  pious 
man.  When  writing  his  great  oratorio  of  "The 
Creation"  at  sixty-seven  years  of  age,  "I  knelt 
down  every  day,"  he  says,  "  and  prayed  God  to 
strengthen  me  for  my  work."  This  daily  spirit- 
ual preparation  was  similar  to  Handel's  when  he 
was  creating  his  "Messiah."  Change  one  word 
and  it  may  be  said  of  sacred  music  as  truly  as 
of  astronomy,  "The  undevout  composer  is  mad." 

Near  Haydn's  death,  in  Vienna,  1809,  when  he 
heard  for  the  last  time  his  magnificent  chorus, 
"Let  there  be  Light!"  he  exclaimed,  "Not  mine, 
not  mine.   It  all  came  to  me  from  above." 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  33 

"NOW  TO  THE   LORD  A  NOBLE    SONG." 

When  Watts  finished  this  hymn  he  had  achieved 
a  "noble  song,"  whether  he  was  conscious  of  it  or 
not;  and  it  deserves  a  foremost  place,  where  it 
can  help  future  worshippers  in  their  praise  as  it 
has  the  past.  It  is  not  so  common  in  the  later 
hymnals,  but  it  is  imperishable,  and  still  later 
collections  will  not  forget  it. 

Now  to  the  Lord  a  noble  song, 
Awake  my  soul,  awake  my  tongue! 
Hosanna  to  the  Eternal  Name, 
And  all  His  boundless  love  proclaim. 

See  where  it  shines  in  Jesus'  face. 
The  brightest  image  of  His  grace! 
God  in  the  person  of  His  Son 
Has  all  His  mightiest  works  outdone. 

A  rather  finical  question  has  occurred  to  some 
minds  as  to  the  theology  of  the  word  "works''  in 
the  last  line,  making  the  second  person  in  the  God- 
head apparently  a  creature;  and  in  a  few  hymn- 
books  the  previous  line  has  been  made  to  read  — 
God  in  the  Gospel  of  His  Son. 

But  the  question  is  a  rhetorical  one,  and  the  poet's 
free  expression — here  as  in  hundreds  of  other 
cases — has  never  disturbed  the  general  confidence 
in  his  orthodoxy. 

Montgomery  called  Watts  "the  inventor  of 
hymns  in  our  language,"  and  the  credit  stands 
practically  undisputed,  for  Watts  made  a  hymn 
style  that  no  human  master  taught  him,  and  his 


34  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

model  has  been  the  ideal  one  for  song  worship  ever 
since;  and  we  can  pardon  the  climax  when  Pro- 
fessor Charles  M.  Stuart  speaks  of  him  as  "writer, 
scholar,  thinker  and  saint,'*  for  in  addition  to  all 
the  rest  he  was  a  very  good  man. 

THE   TUNE. 

Old  "Ames"  was  for  many  years  the  choir 
favorite,  and  the  words  of  the  hymn  printed  with 
It  in  the  note-book  made  the  association  familiar. 
It  was,  and  is,  an  appropriate  selection,  though 
in  later  manuals  George  Kingsley's  "Ware"  is 
evidently  thought  to  be  better  suited  to  the  high- 
toned  verse.  Good  old  tunes  never  "wear  out," 
but  they  do  go  out  of  fashion. 

The  composer  of  "Ames,"  Sigismund  Neu- 
komm,  Chevalier,  was  born  in  Salzburg,  Austria, 
July  10,  1778,  and  was  a  pupil  of  Haydn.  Though 
not  a  great  genius,  his  talents  procured  him  access 
and  even  intimacy  in  the  courts  of  Germany,  France, 
Italy,  Portugal  and  England,  and  for  thirty  years  he 
composed  church  anthems  and  oratorios  with  pro- 
digious industry.  Neukomm's  musical  productions, 
numbering  no  less  than  one  thousand,  and  popularin 
their  day,  are,  however,  mostly  forgotten,  excepting 
his  oratorio  of  "  David"  and  one  or  two  hymn-tunes. 

George  Kingsley,  author  of  "Ware," was  born 
in  Northampton,  Mass.,  July  7,  181 1.  Died  in 
the  Hospital,  in  the  same  city,  March  14,  1884.  He 
compiled  eight  books  of  music  for  young  people  and 
several  manuals  of  church  psalmody,  and  was  for 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  35 

some  time  a  music  teacher  in  Boston ,  where  he  played 
the  organ  at  the  Hollis  St.  church.  Subsequently  he 
became  professor  of  music  in  Girard  College,  Phila- 
delphia, and  music  instructor  in  the  public  schools, 
being  employed  successively  as  organist  (on  Lord's 
Day)  at  Dr.  Albert  Barnes'  and  Arch  St.  churches, 
and  finally  in  Brooklyn  at  Dr.  Storrs'  Church 
of  the  Pilgrims.     Returned  to  Northampton,  1853. 

"EARLY,  MY  GOD,  WITHOUT  DELAY." 

This  and  the  five  following  hymns,  all  by  Watts, 
are  placed  in  immediate  succession,  for  unity's 
sake — with  a  fuller  notice  of  the  greatest  of  hymn- 
writers  at  the  end  of  the  series. 

Early,  my  God,  without  delay 

I  haste  to  seek  Thy  face, 
My  thirsty  spirit  faints  away 

Without  Thy  cheering  grace. 

In  the  memories  of  very  old  men  and  women, 
who  sang  the  fugue  music  of  Morgan's  "Mont- 
gomery, "still  lingers  the  second  stanza  and  some 
of  the  "spirit  and  understanding"  with  which  it 
used  to  be  rendered  in  meeting  on  Sunday  mornings. 

So  pilgrims  on  the  scorching  sand, 

Beneath  a  burning  sky, 
Long  for  a  cooling  stream  at  hand 

And  they  must  drink  or  die. 

THE    TUNE. 

Many  of  the  earlier  pieces  assigned  to  this  hymn 
were  either  too  noisy  or  too  tame.    The  best  and 


36  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

longest-serving  is  "Lanesboro,"  which,  with  its 
expressive  duet  in  the  middle  and  its  soaring  final 
strain  of  harmony,  never  fails  to  carry  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words.  It  was  composed  by  William 
Dixon,  and  arranged  and  adapted  by  Lowell  Mason. 

William  Dixon,  an  English  composer,  was  a 
music  engraver  and  publisher,  and  author  also  of 
several  glees  and  anthems.  He  was  born  1750, 
and  died  about  1825. 

Lowell  Mason,  born  in  Medfield,  Mass.,  1792, has 
been  called,  not  without  reason, "  the  father  of  Amer- 
ican choir  singing."  Returning  from  Savannah, 
Ga.,  where  he  spent  sixteen  years  of  his  younger  life 
as  clerk  in  a  bank,  he  located  in  Boston  (1827), being 
already  known  there  as  the  composer  of  "The  Mis- 
sionary Hymn."  He  had  not  neglected  his  musical 
studies  while  living  in  the  South,  and  it  was  in  Savan- 
nah that  he  made  the  glorious  harmony  of  that  tune. 

He  became  president  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society,  went  abroad  for  special  study,  was  made 
Doctor  of  Music,  and  collected  a  store  of  themes 
among  the  great  models  of  song  to  bring  home  for 
his  future  work. 

The  Boston  Academy  of  Music  was  founded  by 
him  and  what  he  did  for  the  song-service  of  the 
Church  in  America  by  his  singing  schools,  and 
musical  conventions,  and  published  manuals,  to 
form  and  organize  the  choral  branch  of  divine 
worship,  has  no  parallel,  unless  it  is  Noah  Webster's 
service  to  the  English  language. 

Dr.  Mason  died  in  Orange,  N.  J.,  in   1872. 


HYMNS   OF    PRAISE    AND   WORSHIP.  37 

"SWEET  IS  THE  WORK,  MY  GOD,  MY  KING." 

This  is  one  of  the  hymns  that  helped  to  give  its 
author  the  title  of ''  The  Seraphic  Watts." 

Sweet  is  the  work,  my  God,  my  King 
To  praise  Thy  name,  give  thanks  and  sing 
To  show  Thy  love  by  morning  hght, 
And  talk  of  all  Thy  truth  at  night. 

THE    TUNE. 

No  nobler  one,  and  more  akin  in  spirit  to  the 
hymn,  can  be  found  than  "Duke  Street,"  Hatton's 
imperishable  choral. 

Little  is  known  of  the  John  Hatton  who  wrote 
"Duke  St."  He  was  earlier  by  nearly  a  century 
than  John  Liphot  Hatton  of  Liverpool  (born  in 
1809),  who  wrote  the  opera  of  "Pascal  Bruno," 
the  cantata  of  "Robin  Hood"  and  the  sacred 
drama  of  "Hezekiah."  The  biographical  index 
of  the  Evangelical  Hymnal  says  of  John  Hatton,  the 
author  of  "Duke  St.":  "John,  of  Warrington;  af- 
terwards of  St.  Helens,  then  resident  in  Duke  St.  in 
the  township  of  Windle;  composed  several  hymn- 
tunes;  died  in  1793.*  His  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  at  the  Presbyterian  Chapel,  St.  Helens, 
Dec.  13." 

*'COME,  WE  THAT  LOVE  THE  LORD." 

Watts  entitled  this  hymn  "Heavenly  Joy  on 
Earth."    He  could  possibly,  like  Madame  Guyon, 

♦Tradition  says  he  was  killed  by  being  thrown  from  a  stage-coach. 


38  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

have  written  such  a  hymn  in  a  dungeon,  but  it  is 
no  less  spiritual  for  its  birth  (as  tradition  will  have 
it)  amid  the  lovely  scenery  of  Southampton  where 
he  could  find  in  nature  "glory  begun  below/* 

Come,  we  that  love  the  Lord, 

And  let  our  joys  be  known; 
Join  in  a  song  with  sweet  accord. 

And  thus  surround  the  throne. 

There  shall  we  see  His  face, 

And  never,  never  sin; 
There,  from  the  rivers  of  His  grace, 

Drink  endless  pleasures  in. 

Children  of  grace  have  found 

Glory  begun  below: 
Celestial  fruits  on  earthly  ground 

From  faith  and  hope  may  grow. 

Mortality  and  immortality  blend  their  charms 
in  the  next  stanza.  The  unfailing  beauty  of  the 
vision  will  be  dwelt  upon  with  delight  so  long  as 
Christians  sing  on  earth. 

The  hill  of  Sion  yields 

A  thousand  sacred  sweets. 
Before  we  reach  the  heavenly  fields, 

Or  walk  the  golden  streets. 

THE    TUNE. 

"St.  Thomas"  has  often  been  the  interpreter  of 
the  hymn,  and  still  clings  to  the  words  in  the 
memory  of  thousands. 

The  Italian  tune  of  "Ain"  has  more  music.  It 
IS  a  fugue  piece  (simplified  in  some  tune-books), 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP. 


39 


and  the  joyful  traverse  of  its  notes  along  the  staff 
in  four-four  time,  with  the  momentum  of  a  good 
choir,  is  exhilarating  in  the  extreme. 

Corelli,  the  composer,  was  a  master  violinist,  the 
greatest  of  his  day,  and  wrote  a  great  deal  of 
violin  music;  and  the  thought  of  his  glad  instru- 
ment may  have  influenced  his  work  when  harmo- 
nizing the  four  voices  of  "  Ain." 

Arcangelo  Corelli  was  born  at  Fusignano,  in 
1653.  He  was  a  sensitive  artist,  and  although 
faultless  in  Italian  music,  he  was  not  sure  of  him- 
self in  playing  French  scores,  and  once  while 
performing  with  Handel  (who  resented  the  slightest 
error),  and  once  again  with  Scarlatti,  leading  an 
orchestra  in  Naples  when  the  king  was  present,  he 
made  a  mortifying  mistake.  He  took  the  humili- 
ation so  much  to  heart  that  he  brooded  over  it  till 
he  died,  in  Rome,  Jan.  18,  1717. 

For  revival  meetings  the  modern  tune  set  to 
"Come  we  that  love  the  Lord,"  by  Robert  Lowry, 
should  be  mentioned.  A  shouting  chorus  is  ap- 
pended to  it,  but  it  has  melody  and  plenty  of  stim- 
ulating motion. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Lowry  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
March  12,  1826,  and  educated  at  Lewisburg,  Pa. 
From  his  28th  year  till  his  death,  1899,  he  was  a 
faithful  and  successful  minister  of  Christ,  but 
is  more  widely  known  as  a  composer  of  sacred 
music. 


40  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"BE  THOU  EXALTED,  O  MY  GOD." 

In  this  hymn  the  thought  of  Watts  touches  the 
eternal  summits.  Taken  from  the  57th  and  io8th 
Psalms — 

Be  Thou  exalted,  O  my  God, 

Above  the  heavens  v^here  angels  dwell; 

Thy  power  on  earth  be  known  abroad 
And  land  to  land  Thy  wonders  tell. 

4c     )|c     %     i((     4:     >«c 

High  o*er  the  earth  His  mercy  reigns, 

And  reaches  to  the  utmost  sky; 
His  truth  to  endless  years  remains 

When  lower  worlds  dissolve  and  die. 

THE    TUNE. 

Haydn  furnished  it  out  of  his  chorus  of  morning 
stars,  and  it  was  christened  "Creation,"  after  the 
name  of  his  great  oratorio.  It  is  a  march  of 
trumpets. 

"BEFORE  JEHOVAH'S  AWFUL  THRONE." 

No  one  could  mistake  the  style  of  Watts  in  this 
sublime  ode.  He  begins  with  his  foot  on  Sinai, 
but  flies  to  Calvary  with  the  angel  preacher  whom 
St.  John  saw  in  his  Patmos  vision : 

Before  Jehovah*s  awful  throne 

Ye  nations  bow  with  sacred  joy; 
Know  that  the  Lord  is  God  alone; 

He  can  create  and  He  destroy. 


HYMNS   OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  4I 

His  sovereign  power  without  our  aid 
Made  us  of  clay  and  formed  us  men, 

And  when  Hke  wandering  sheep  we  stray, 
He  brought  us  to  His  fold  again. 

4:     *     4:     He     3|c     * 

We'll  crowd  Thy  gates  with  thankful  songs, 
High  as  the  heaven  our  voices  raise, 

And  earth  with  her  ten  thousand  tongues 
Shall  fill  Thy  courts  with  sounding  praise. 

TUNE— OLD    HUNDRED. 

Martin  Madan's  four-page  anthem,  "Den- 
mark," has  some  grand  strains  in  it,  but  it  is  a 
tune  of  florid  and  difficult  vocalization,  and  is  now 
heard  only  in  Old  Folks'  Concerts. 

The  Rev.  Isaac  Watts,  D.D.,  was  born  at 
Southampton,  Eng.,  in  1674.  His  father  was  a 
deacon  of  the  Independent  Church  there,  and 
though  not  an  uncultured  man  himself,  he  is  said 
to  have  had  little  patience  with  the  incurable 
penchant  of  his  boy  for  making  rhymes  and  verses. 
We  hear  nothing  of  the  lad's  mother,  but  we  can 
fancy  her  hand  and  spirit  in  the  indulgence  of  his 
poetic  tastes  as  well  as  in  his  religious  training. 
The  tradition  handed  down  from  Dr.  Price,  a 
colleague  of  Watts,  relates  that  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  Isaac  became  so  irritated  at  the  crabbed 
and  untuneful  hymns  sung  at  the  Nonconformist 
meetings  that  he  complained  bitterly  of  them  to 
his  father.    The  deacon  may  have  felt  something 


42  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

as  Dr.  Wayland  did  when  a  rather  "fresh"  student 
criticised  the  Proverbs,  and  hinted  that  making  such 
things  could  not  be  "much  of  a  job,"  and  the  Doc- 
tor remarked,  "Suppose  you  make  a  few."  Possi- 
bly there  was  the  same  gentle  sarcasm  in  the  reply 
of  Deacon  Watts  to  his  son,  "Make  some  yourself, 
then." 

Isaac  was  in  just  the  mood  to  take  his  father  at 
his  word,  and  he  retired  and  wrote  the  hymn — 

Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb. 

There  must  have  been  a  decent  tune  to  carry  it, 
for  it  pleased  the  worshippers  greatly,  when  it  was 
sung  in  meeting — and  that  was  the  beginning  of 
Isaac  Watts'  career  as  a  hymnist. 

So  far  as  scholarship  was  an  advantage,  the  young 
writer  must  have  been  well  equipped  already,  for 
as  early  as  the  entering  of  his  fifth  year  he  was 
learning  Latin,  and  at  nine  learning  Greek;  at 
eleven,  French;  and  at  thirteen,  Hebrew.  From 
the  day  of  his  first  success  he  continued  to  indite 
hymns  for  the  home  church,  until  by  the  end  of  his 
twenty-second  year  he  had  written  one  hundred 
and  ten,  and  in  the  two  following  years  a  hundred 
and  forty-four  more,  besides  preparing  himself  for 
the  ministry.  No.  7  in  the  edition  of  the  first  one 
hundred  and  ten,  was  that  royal  jewel  of  all  his 
lyric  work — 

When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross. 

Isaac  Watts  was  ordained  pastor  of  an  Inde- 
pendent Church  in  Mark  Lane,  London,  1702,  but 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP. 


43 


repeated  illness  finally  broke  up  his  ministry,  and 
he  retired,  an  invalid,  to  the  beautiful  home  of  Sir 
Thomas  Abney  at  Theobaldo,  invited,  as  he  sup- 
posed, to  spend  a  week,  but  it  was  really  to  spend 
the  rest  of  his  life — thirty-six  years. 

Numbers  of  his  hymns  are  cited  as  having  bio- 
graphical or  reminiscent  color.    The  stanza  in — 

When  I  can  read  my  title  clear, 

— which  reads  in  the  original  copy, — 

Should  earth  against  my  soul  engage 
And  hellish  darts  be  hurled, 
Then  I  can  smile  at  Satan's  rage 
And  face  a  frowning  world, 

— is  said  to  have  been  an  allusion  to  Voltaire  and  his 
attack  upon  the  church,  while  the  calm  beauty  of 
the  harbor  within  view  of  his  home  is  supposed  to 
have  been  in  his  eye  when  he  composed  the  last 
stanza, — 

There  shall  I  bathe  my  weary  soul 

In  seas  of  heavenly  rest, 
And  not  a  wave  of  trouble  roll 
Across  my  peaceful  breast. 

According  to  the  record, — 

What  shall  the  dying  sinner  do  ? 

— was  one  of  his  "pulpit  hymns,"  and  followed  a 
sermon  preached  from  Rom.  i  :i6.    Another, — 

And  is  this  life  prolonged  to  you  ? 

— after  a  sermon  from  I  Cor.  3 122;  and  another, — 

How  vast  a  treasure  we  possess, 


44  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

— enforced  his  text,  "All  things  are  yours/'  The 
hymn, — 

Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts 

On  Jewish  altars  slain, 

— was,  as  some  say,  suggested  to  the  writer  by  a 
visit  to  the  abbatoir  in  Smithfield  Market.  The 
same  hymn  years  afterwards,  discovered,  we  are 
told,  in  a  printed  paper  wrapped  around  a  shop 
bundle,  converted  a  Jewess,  and  influenced  her  to  a 
life  of  Christian  faith  and  sacrifice. 

A  young  man,  hardened  by  austere  and  min- 
atory sermons,  was  melted,  says  Dr.  Belcher,  by 
simply  reading, — 

Show  pity  Lord,  O  Lord,  forgive, 
Let  a  repenting  sinner  live. 

— and  became  partaker  of  a  rich  religious  experience. 
The  summer  scenery  of  Southampton,  with  its 
distant  view  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  was  believed  to 
have  inspired  the  hymnist  sitting  at  a  parlor 
window  and  gazing  across  the  river  Itchen,  to 
write  the  stanza — 

Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood 

Stand  drest  in  living  green; 
So  to  the  Jews  old  Canaan  stood 

While  Jordan  rolled  between. 

The  hymn,  "Unveil  thy  bosom,  faithful  tomb," 
was  personal,  addressed  by  Watts  "to  Lucius  on 
the  death  of  Seneca." 

A  severe  heart-trial  was  the  occasion  of  another 
hymn.    When  a  young  man  he  proposed  marriage 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  45 

to  Miss  Elizabeth  Singer,  a  much-admired  young 
lady,  talented,  beautiful,  and  good.  She  rejected 
him — kindly  but  finally.  The  disappointment 
was  bitter,  and  in  the  first  shadow  of  it  he  wrote, — 

How  vain  are  all  things  here  below, 
How  false  and  yet  how  fair. 

Miss  Singer  became  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Rowe,  the  spiritual  and  poetic  beauty  of 
whose  Meditations  once  made  a  devotional  text- 
book for  pious  souls.  Of  Dr.  Watts  and  his 
offer  of  his  hand  and  heart,  she  always  said,  "I 
loved  the  jewel,  but  I  did  not  admire  the  casket.'' 
The  poet  suitor  was  undersized,  in  habitually 
delicate  health — and  not  handsome. 

But  the  good  minister  and  scholar  found  noble 
employment  to  keep  his  mind  from  preying  upon 
itself  and  shortening  his  days.  During  his  long 
though  afflicted  leisure  he  versified  the  Psalms, 
wrote  a  treatise  on  Logic,  an  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  Astronomy  and  Geography,  and  a  work 
On  the  Improvement  of  the  Mind;  and  died  in 
1748,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four. 

"O  FOR  A  THOUSAND  TONGUES  TO  SING." 

Charles  Wesley,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  took  up 
the  harp  of  Watts  when  the  older  poet  laid  it  down. 
He  was  born  at  Epworth,  Eng.,  in  1708,  the  third 
son  of  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley,  and  died  in  London, 
March  29,  1788.     The  hymn  is  believed  to  have 


46  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

been  written  May  17,  1739,  for  the  anniversary  of 
his  own  conversion : 

O  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 

My  great  Redeemer's  praise, 
The  glories  of  my  God  and  King, 

And  triumphs  of  His  grace. 

The  remark  of  a  fervent  Christian  friend,  Peter 
Bohler,  "Had  I  a  thousand  tongues  I  would  praise 
Christ  Jesus  with  them  all,"  struck  an  answering 
chord  in  Wesley's  heart,  and  he  embalmed  the 
wish  in  his  fluent  verse.  The  third  stanza  (printed 
as  second  in  some  hymnals),  has  made  language  for 
*  pardoned  souls  for  at  least  four  generations: 

Jesus!  the  name  that  calms  our  fears 

And  bids  our  sorrows  cease; 
*Tis  music  in  the  sinner's  ears, 

'Tis  life  and  health  and  peace. 

Charles  Wesley  was  the  poet  of  the  soul,  and 
knew  every  mood.  In  the  w^ords  of  Isaac  Taylor, 
"There  is  no  main  article  of  belief.  .  .  .no  moral 
sentiment  peculiarly  characteristic  of  the  gospel 
that  does  not  find  itself.  .  .  .pointedly  and  clearly 
conveyed  in  some  stanza  of  Charles  Wesley's 
poetry."  And  it  does  not  dim  the  lustre  of  Watts, 
considering  the  marvellous  brightness,versatility  and 
felicity  of  his  greatest  successor,  to  say  of  the  latter, 
with  the  London  Quarterly,  that  he  "was,  perhaps, 
the  most  gifted  minstrel  of  the  modern  Church." 

Most  of  the  hymns  of  this  good  man  were  hymns 
of  experience — and  this  is  why  they  are  so  dear  to 


HYMNS    OF    PRAISE    AND    WORSHIP.  47 

the  Christian  heart.  The  music  of  eternal  Hfe  is 
in  them.  The  happy  glow  of  a  single  line  in  one 
of  them — 

Love  Divine,  all  loves  excelling, 

— thrills  through  them  all.  He  led  a  spotless  life 
from  youth  to  old  age,  and  grew  unceasingly  in 
spiritual  knowledge  and  sweetness.  His  piety 
and  purity  were  the  weapons  that  alike  humbled 
his  scoffing  fellow  scholars  at  Oxford,  and  con- 
quered the  wild  colliers  of  Kingwood.  With  his 
brother  John,  through  persecution  and  ridicule,  he 
preached  and  sang  that  Divine  Love  to  his  country- 
men and  in  the  wilds  of  America,  and  on  their 
return  to  England  his  quenchless  melodies  multi- 
plied till  they  made  an  Evangelical  literature 
around  his  name.  His  hymns — he  wrote  no  less 
than  six  thousand — are  a  liturgy  not  only  for  the 
Methodist  Church  but  for  English-speaking  Chris- 
tendom. 

The  voices  of  Wesley  and  Watts  cannot  be 
hidden,  whatever  province  of  Christian  life  and 
service  is  traversed  in  themes  of  song,  and  in  these 
chapters  they  will  be  heard  again  and  again. 

A  Watts-and-Wesley  Scholarship  would  grace 
any  Theological  Seminary,  to  encourage  the  study 
and  discussion  of  the  best  lyrics  of  the  two  great 
Gospel  bards. 

THE   TUNES. 

The  musical  mouth-piece  of  "O  for  a  thousand 
tongues,"  nearest  to  its  own  date,  is  old  "Azmon" 


48  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

by  Carl  Glaser  (i 734-1829),  appearing  as  No.  i 
in  the  New  Methodist  Hymnal.  Arranged  by 
Lowell  Mason,  1830,  it  is  still  comparatively 
familiar,  and  the  flavor  of  devotion  is  in  its  tone 
and  style. 

Dr.  Henry  John  Gauntlett,  Vicar  of  Olney, 
Buckinghamshire,  wrote  a  tune  for  it  in  1872,  noble 
in  its  uniform  step  and  time,  but  scarcely  uttering 
the  hymnist's  characteristic  ardor. 

The  tune  of  "Dedham,"  by  William  Gardiner, 
now  venerable  but  surviving  by  true  merit,  is  not 
unlike  "Azmon"  in  movement  and  character. 
Though  less  closely  associated  with  the  hymn,  as 
a  companion  melody  it  is  not  inappropriate.  But 
whatever  the  range  of  vocalization  or  the  dignity 
of  swells  and  cadences,  a  slow  pace  of  single  semi- 
breves  or  quarters  is  not  suited  to  Wesley's  hymns. 
They  are  flights. 

Professor  William  Gardiner  wrote  many  works 
on  musical  subjects  early  in  the  last  century,  and 
composed  vocal  harmonies,  secular  and  sacred. 
He  was  born  in  Leicester,  Eng.,  March  5,  1770, 
and  died  there  Nov.  16,  1853. 

There  is  an  old-fashioned  unction  and  vigor  in 
the  style  of  "Peterborough"  by  Rev.  Ralph 
Harrison  (1748-1810)  that  after  all  best  satisfies 
the  singer  who  enters  heart  and  soul  into  the  spirit 
of  the  hymn.  Old  Peterborough  was  composed  in 
1786. 


HYMNS   OF    PRAISE    AND   WORSHIP.  49 

"LORD  WITH  GLOWING  HEART  FD  PRAISE  THEE." 

This  was  written  in  18 17  by  the  author  of  the 
*'Star  Spangled  Banner,"  and  is  a  noble  American 
hymn  of  which  the  country  may  well  be  proud, 
both  because  of  its  merit  and  for  its  birth  in  the 
heart  of  a  national  poet  who  was  no  less  a  Christian 
than  a  patriot. 

Francis  Scott  Key,  lawyer,  was  born  on  the 
estate  of  his  father,  John  Ross  Key,  in  Frederick, 
Md.,  Aug.  1st,  1779;  and  died  in  Baltimore,  Jan. 
II,  1843.  A  bronze  statue  of  him  over  his  grave, 
and  another  in  Golden  Gate  Park,  San  Francisco, 
represent  the  nationality  of  his  fame  and  the 
gratitude  of  a  whole  land. 

Though  a  slaveholder  by  inheritance,  Mr.  Key 
deplored  the  existence  of  human  slavery,  and  not 
only  originated  a  scheme  of  African  colonization, 
but  did  all  that  a  model  master  could  do  for  the 
chattels  on  his  plantation,  in  compliance  with  the 
Scripture  command,*  to  lighten  their  burdens. 
He  helped  them  in  their  family  troubles,  defended 
them  gratuitously  in  the  courts,  and  held  regular 
Sunday-school  services  for  them. 

Educated  at  St.  John's  College,  an  active 
member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  he  was  not  only 
a  scholar  but  a  devout  and  exemplary  man. 

Lord,  with  glowing  heart  I'd  praise  Thee 

For  the  bliss  Thy  love  bestows, 
For  the  pardoning  grace  that  saves  me, 

And  the  peace  that  from  it  flows. 

*Eph.  6:  9,  Coloss.  4:  1. 


50  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Help,  O  Lord,  my  weak  endeavor; 

This  dull  soul  to  rapture  raise; 
Thou  must  light  the  flame  or  never 

Can  my  love  be  warmed  to  praise. 

Lord,  this  bosom's  ardent  feeling 

Vainly  would  my  life  express; 
Low  before  Thy  footstool  kneeling. 

Deign  Thy  suppliant's  prayer  to  bless. 

Let  Thy  grace,  my  soul's  chief  treasure, 
Love's  pure  flame  within  me  raise. 

And,  since  words  can  never  measure, 
Let  my  life  show  forth  Thy  praise. 

THE   TUNE. 

"St.  Chad,"  a  choral  in  D,  with  a  four-bar 
unison,  in  the  Evangelical  Hymnal,  is  worthy  of 
the  hymn.  Richard  Redhead,  the  composer, 
organist  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
Paddington,  Eng.,  was  born  at  Harrow,  Middle- 
sex, March  i,  1820,  and  educated  at  Magdalene 
College,  Oxford.  Graduated  Bachelor  of  Music 
at  Oxford,  1871.  He  published  Laudes  DomincBy 
a  Gregorian  Psalter,  1843,  a  Book  of  Tunes  for 
the  Christian  Tear,  and  is  the  author  of  much  rit- 
ual music. 

"HOLY,  HOLY,  HOLY,  LORD  GOD  ALMIGHTY." 

There  is  nothing  so  majestic  in  Protestant  hym- 
nology  as  this  Tersanctus  of  Bishop  Heber. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Reginald  Heber,  son  of  a  clergy- 
man  of  the   same   name,   was   born   in   Malpas, 


HYMNS   OF    PRAISE   AND    WORSHIP  5 1 

Cheshire,  Eng.,  April  2ist,  1783,  and  educated 
at  Oxford.  He  served  the  church  in  Hodnet, 
Shropshire,  for  about  twenty  years,  and  was  then 
appointed  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  E.  I.  His  labors 
there  were  cut  short  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  his 
death  occurring  in  1826,  at  Trichinopoly  on  the 
3d  of  April,  his  natal  month. 

His  hymns,  numbering  fifty-seven,  were  collected 
by  his  widow,  and  published  with  his  poetical 
works  in   1842. 

Holy!  holy!  holy!  Lord  God  Almighty! 

Early  in  the  morning  our  song  shall  rise  to  Thee. 
Holy!  holy!  holy!  merciful  and  mighty, 

God  in  Three  Persons,  blessed  Trinity. 

Holy!  holy!  holy!    all  the  saints  adore  Thee, 

Casting  down  their  golden  crowns  around  the  glassy  sea; 

Cherubim  and  seraphim,  falling  down  before  Thee, 
Which  wert,  and  art,  and  evermore  shall  be. 

THE   TUNE. 

Grand  as  the  hymn  is,  it  did  not  come  to  its  full 
grandeur  of  sentiment  and  sound  in  song-worship 
till  the  remarkable  music  of  Dr.  John  B.  Dykes 
was  joined  to  it.  None  was  ever  written  that  in 
performance  illustrates  more  admirably  the  solemn 
beauty  of  congregational  praise.  The  name 
"Nicaea"  attached  to  the  tune  means  nothing  to 
the  popular  ear  and  mind,  and  it  is  known  every- 
where by  the  initial  words  of  the  first  line. 

Rev.  John  Bacchus  Dykes,  Doctor  of  Music, 
was   born   at  Kingston-upon-Hull,   in   1823;    ^"^ 


52  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

graduated  at  Cambridge,  in  1847.  He  became  a 
master  of  tone  and  choral  harmony,  and  did  much 
to  reform  and  elevate  congregational  psalmody 
in  England.  He  was  perhaps  the  first  to  demon- 
strate that  hymn-tune  making  can  be  reduced  to  a 
science  without  impairing  its  spiritual  purpose. 
Died  Jan.  22,  1876. 

*  TORD  OF  ALL  BEING,  THRONED  AFAR." 

This  noble  hymn  was  composed  by  Dr.  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes,  born  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  1809, 
and  graduated  at  Harvard  University.  A  physician 
by  profession,  he  was  known  as  a  practitioner 
chiefly  in  literature,  being  a  brilliant  writer  and 
long  the  leading  poetical  wit  of  America.  He  was, 
however,  a  man  of  deep  religious  feeling,  and  a 
devout  attendant  at  King's  Chapel,  Unitarian,  in 
Boston  where  he  spent  his  life.  He  held  the 
Harvard  Professorship  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology 
more  than  fifty  years,  but  his  enduring  work  is  in 
his  poems,  and  his  charming  volume,  The  Auto- 
crat of  the  Breakfast  Table.     Died  Jan.  22,  1896. 

THE   TUNE. 

Holmes'  hymn  is  sung  in  some  churches  to 
"Louvan,"  V.  C.Taylor's  admirable  praise  tune. 
Other  hymnals  prefer  with  it  the  music  of  "  Keble," 
one  of  Dr.  Dykes'  appropriate  and  finished  melodies. 

Virgil  Corydon  Taylor,  an  American  vocal  com- 
poser, was  born  in  Barkhamstead,  Conn.,  April  2, 
1817,  died  1891. 


CHAPTER  II 


SOME  HYMNS  OF  GREAT 
WITNESSES. 


JOHN    OF    DAMASCUS. 

"Ep/saGe,   J)  xiaTOi, 
'AvaaTic7£(i)c;    'H^lpa. 

John  of  Damascus,  called  also  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  a  theologian  and  poet,  was  the  last 
but  one  of  the  Christian  Fathers  of  the  Greek 
Church.  This  eminent  man  was  named  by  the 
Arabs  "  Ibn  Mansur,"  Son  (Servant .?)  of  a  Con- 
queror, either  in  honor  of  his  father  Sergius  or 
because  it  was  a  Semitic  translation  of  his  family 
title.  He  was  born  in  Damascus  early  in  the  8th 
century,  and  seems  to  have  been  in  favor  with  the 
Caliph,  and  served  under  him  many  years  in  some 
important  civil  capacity,  until,  retiring  to  Palestine, 
he  entered  the  monastic  order,  and  late  in  life  was 
ordained  a  priest  of  the  Jerusalem  Church.  He 
died  in  the  Convent  of  St.  Sabas  near  that  city 
about  A.  D.  780. 

His   lifetime   appears   to   have   been   passed   in 

(53) 


54  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

comparative  peace.  Mohammed  having  died 
before  completing  the  conquest  of  Syria,  the 
Moslem  rule  before  whose  advance  Oriental 
Christianity  was  to  lose  its  first  field  of  triumph 
had  not  yet  asserted  its  persecuting  power  in  the 
north.  This  devout  monk,  in  his  meditations  at 
St.  Sabas,  dwelt  much  upon  the  birth  and  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  and  made  hymns  to  cele- 
brate them.  It  was  probably  four  hundred  years 
before  Bonaventura  ( .^)  wrote  the  Christmas 
"Adeste  Fideles"  of  the  Latin  West  that  John  of 
Damascus  composed  his  Greek  "Adeste  Fideles" 
for  a  Resurrection  song  in  Jerusalem. 

Come  ye  faithful,  raise  the  strain 
Of  triumphant  gladness. 

****** 

*Tis  the  spring  of  souls  today 

Christ  hath  burst  His  prison; 
From  the  frost  and  gloom  of  death 

Light  and  life  have  risen. 

The  nobler  of  the  two  hymns  preserved  to  us, 
(or  six  stanzas  of  it)  through  eleven  centuries  is 
entitled  "The  Day  of  Resurrection." 

The  day  of  resurrection, 

Earth,  tell  its  joys  abroad: 
The  Passover  of  gladness, 

The  Passover  of  God. 
From  death  to  life  eternal. 

From  earth  unto  the  sky. 
Our  Christ  hath  brought  us  over. 

With  hymns  of  victory. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  55 

Our  hearts  be  pure  from  evil, 

That  we  may  see  aright 
The  Lord  in  rays  eternal 

Of  resurrection  light; 
And,  listening  to  His  accents. 

May  hear,  so  calm  and  plain, 
His  own,  "All  hail!'*  and  hearing. 

May  raise  the  victor-strain. 

Now  let  the  heavens  be  joyful. 

Let  earth  her  song  begin. 
Let  all  the  world  keep  triumph, 

All  that  dwell  therein. 
In  grateful  exultation. 

Their  notes  let  all  things  blend, 
For  Christ  the  Lord  is  risen, 

O  joy  that  hath  no  end! 

Both  these  hymns  of  John  of  Damascus  were 
translated  by  John  Mason  Neale. 

THE   TUNE. 

"The  Day  of  Resurrection"  is  sung  in  the 
modern  hymnals  to  the  tune  of  "Rotterdam," 
composed  by  Berthold  of  Tours,  born  in  that  city  of 
the  Netherlands,  Dec.  17,  1838.  He  was  educated 
at  the  conservatory  in  Leipsic,  and  later  made 
London  his  permanent  residence,  writing  both 
vocal  and  instrumental  music.  Died  1897.  "Rot- 
terdam" is  a  stately,  sonorous  piece  and  conveys 
the  flavor  of  the  ancient  hymn. 

"Come  ye  faithful"  has  for  its  modern  inter- 
preter Sir  Arthur  Sullivan,  the  celebrated  com- 
poser of  both  secular  and  sacred  works,  but  best 


56  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

known  in  hymnody  as  author  of  the  great  Christian 
march,  "Onward  Christian  Soldiers/' 

Hymns  are  known  to  have  been  written  by  the 
earHer  Greek  Fathers,  Ephrem  Syrus  of  Mesopo- 
tamia (A.  D.  307-373),  Basil  the  Great,  Bishop 
of  Cappadocia  (A.  D.  329-379)  Gregory  Nazi- 
anzen,  Bishop  of  Constantinople  (A.  D.  335-390) 
and  others,  but  their  fragments  of  song  which  have 
come  down  to  us  scarcely  rank  them  among  the 
great  witnesses — with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
last  name.  An  English  scholar,  Rev.  Allen  W. 
Chatfield,  has  translated  the  hymns  extant  of 
Gregory  Nazianzen.  The  following  stanzas  give 
an  idea  of  their  quality.  The  lines  are  from  an 
address  to  the  Deity: 

How,  Unapproached!    shall  mind  of  man 

Descry  Thy  dazzling  throne, 
And  pierce  and  find  Thee  out,  and  scan 

Where  Thou  dost  dwell  alone } 

Unuttered  Thou!    all  uttered  things 

Have  had  their  birth  from  Thee; 
The  One  Unknown,  from  Thee  the  spring 

Of  all  we  know  and  see. 

And  lo!  all  things  abide  in  Thee 

And  through  the  complex  whole, 
Thou  spreadst  Thine  own  divinity, 

Thyself  of  all  the  Goal. 

This  is  reverent,  but  rather  philosophical  than 
evangelical,  and  reminds  us  of  the  Hymn  of 
Aratus,  more  than  two  centuries  before  Christ 
was  born. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  57 

ST.  STEPHEN,  THE  SABAITE. 

This  pious  Greek  monk,  (734-794,)  nephew  of 
St.  John  of  Damascus,  spent  his  hfe,  from  the  age 
of  ten,  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Sabas.  His  sweet 
hymn,  known  in  Neale's  translation, — 

Art  thou  weary,  art  thou  languid, 

Art  thou  sore  distrest .? 
Come  to  Me,  saith  One,  and  coming 
Be  at  rest, 

— is  still  in  the  hymnals,  with  the  tunes  of  Dykes, 
and  Sir  Henry  W.  Baker  (1821-1877),  Vicar  of 
Monkland,  Herefordshire. 

^_,    KING    ROBERT  IL       ..^.^ 

Fent^  Sancte  Spiritus. 

Robert  the  Second,  surnamed  "Robert  the  Sage" 
and  "Robert  the  Devout,''  succeeded  Hugh  Capet, 
his  father,  upon  the  throne  of  France,  about  the 
year  997.  He  has  been  called  the  gentlest  monarch 
that  ever  sat  upon  a  throne,  and  his  amiability  of 
character  poorly  prepared  him  to  cope  with  his 
dangerous  and  wily  adversaries.  His  last  years 
were  embittered  by  the  opposition  of  his  own  sons, 
and  the  political  agitations  of  the  times.  He  died 
at  Melun  in  103 1,  and  was  buried  at  St.  Denis. 

Robert  possessed  a  reflective  mind,  and  was  fond 
of  learning  and  musical  art.  He  was  both  a  poet 
and  a  musician.  He  was  deeply  religious,  and,  from 
unselfish  motives,  was  much  devoted  to  the  church. 


\ 


5?  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Robeit's  hymn,  *' Veni,  Sancte  Splritus,"  is  given 
below.  He  himself  was  a  chorister;  and  there  was 
no  kingly  service  that  he  seemed  to  love  so  well. 
We  are  told  that  it  was  his  custom  to  go  to  the 
church  of  St.  Denis,  and  in  his  royal  robes,  with 
his  crown  upon  his  head,  to  direct  the  choir  at 
matins  and  vespers,  and  join  in  the  singing.  Few 
kings  have  left  a  better  legacy  to  the  Christian 
church  than  his  own  hymn,  which,  after  nearly  a 
thousand  years,  is  still  an  influence  in  the  world: 

Come,  Thou  Holy  Spirit,  come, 
And  from  Thine  eternal  home 

Shed  the  ray  of  light  divine; 
Come,  Thou  Father  of  the  poor, 
Come,  Thou  Source  of  all  our  store, 

Come,  within  our  bosoms  shine. 

Thou  of  Comforters  the  best. 

Thou  the  soul's  most  welcome  Guest, 

Sweet  Refreshment  here  below! 
In  our  labor  Rest  most  sweet, 
Grateful  Shadow  from  the  heat, 

Solace  in  the  midst  of  woe! 

Oh,  most  blessed  Light  Divine, 
Shine  within  these  hearts  of  Thine, 

And  our  inmost  being  fill; 
If  Thou  take  Thy  grace  away. 
Nothing  pure  in  man  will  stay. 

All  our  good  is  turned  to  ill. 

Heal  our  wounds;   our  strength  renew 
On  our  dryness  pour  Thy  dew; 

Wash  the  stains  of  guilt  away! 
Bend  the  stubborn  heart  and  will, 


SOME    HYMNS    OF   GREAT   WITNESSES.  59 

Melt  the  frozen,  warm  the  chill, 
Guide  the  steps  that  go  astray. 

„„0m~'  Neale*s  Translation. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  metre  and  six-line  stanza,  being  uniform 
with  those  of  "Rock  of  Ages,"  have  tempted  some 
to  borrow  "Toplady"  for  this  ancient  hymn,  but 
Hastings'  tune  would  refuse  to  sing  other  words; 
and,  besides,  the  alternate  rhymes  would  mar  the 
euphony.  Not  unsuitable  in  spirit  are  several 
existing  tunes  of  the  right  measure — like  "Nassau" 
or  "St.  Athanasius" — but  in  truth  the  "Veni, 
Sancte  Spiritus"  in  English  waits  for  its  perfect 
setting.  Dr.  Ray  Palmer's  paraphrase  of  it  in 
sixes-and-fours,  to  fit  "  Olivet," — 

Come,  Holy  Ghost  in  love,  etc. 

— is  objectionable  both  because  the  word  Ghost  is 
an  archaism  in  Christian  worship  and  more 
especially  because  Dr.  Palmer's  altered  version 
usurps  the  place  of  his  own  hymn.  "Olivet" 
with  "My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee"  makes  as  in- 
violable a  case  of  psalmodic  monogamy  as  "Top- 
lady "  with  "  Rock  of  Ages." 

ST.     FULBERT. 


"Chori  Cantores  Hterusalem  Novae.** 

St.  Fulbert's  hymn  is  a  worthy  companion  of 
Perronet's  "Coronation" — if,  indeed,  it  was  not 


6o  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Its  original  prompter — as  King  Roberts'  great 
litany  was  the  mother  song  of  Watts'*' Come,  Holy 
Spirit,  heavenly  Dove,"  and  the  countless  other 
sacred  lyrics  beginning  w^ith  similar  v^ords.  As 
the  translation  stands  in  the  Church  of  England, 
there  are  six  stanzas  now  sung,  though  in  America 
but  four  appear,  and  not  in  the  same  sequence. 
The  first  four  of  the  six  in  their  regular  succession 
are  as  follows: 

Ye  choirs  of  New  Jerusalem, 

Your  sweetest  notes  employ, 
The  Paschal  victory  to  hymn 

In  strains  of  holy  joy. 

For  Judah*s  Lion  bursts  His  chains, 

Crushing  the  serpent's  head; 
And  cries  aloud,  through  death's  domains 

To  wake  the  imprisoned  dead. 

Devouring  depths  of  hell  their  prey 

At  His  command  restore; 
His  ransomed  hosts  pursue  their  way 

Where  Jesus  goes  before. 

Triumphant  in  His  glory  now, 

To  Him  all  power  is  given; 
To  Him  in   one  communion  bow 

All  saints  in  earth  and  heaven. 

Bishop  Fulbert,  known  in  the  Roman  and  in 
the  Protestant  ritualistic  churches  as  St.  Fulbert  of 
Chartres,  was  a  man  of  brilliant  and  versatile 
mind,  and  one  of  the  most  eminent  prelates  of  his 
time.  He  was  a  contemporary  of  Robert  II,  and 
his  intimate  friend,  continuing  so  after  the  Pope 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  6l 

(Gregory  V.)  excommunicated  the  king  for  marrying 
a  cousin,  which  was  forbidden  by  the  canons  of 
the  church. 

Fulbert  was  for  some  time  head  of  the  Theo- 
logical College  at  Chartres,  a  cathedral  town  of 
France,  anciently  the  capital  of  Celtic  Gaul,  and 
afterwards  he  was  consecrated  as  Bishop  of  that 
diocese.    He  died  about  1029. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  modern  tone-interpreter  of  Fulbert's  hymn 
bears  the  name  "La  Spezia"  in  some  collections, 
and  was  composed  by  James  Taylor  about  the 
time  the  hymn  was  translated  into  English  by 
Robert  Campbell.  Research  might  discover  the 
ancient  tune — for  the  hymn  is  said  to  have  been 
sung  in  the  English  church  during  Fulbert's  life- 
time— but  the  older  was  little  likely  to  be  the  better 
music.  "La  Spezia"  is  a  choral  of  enlivening  but 
easy  chords,  and  a  tread  of  triumph  in  its  musical 
motion  that  suits  the  march  of  "  Judah's  Lion" : 

His  ransomed  hosts  pursue  their  way 
Where  Jesus  goes  before. 

James  Taylor,  born  1833,  is  a  Doctor  of  Music, 
organist  of  the  University  of  Oxford  and  Director 
of  the  Oxford  Philharmonic  Society. 

Robert  Campbell,  the  translator,  was  a  Scotch 
lav^er,  born  in  Edinburgh,  who  besides  his  work 
as  an  advocate  wrote  original  hymns,  and  in  other 
ways  exercised  a  natural  literary  gift.    He  compiled 


62  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

the  excellent  Hymnal  of  the  diocese  of  St.  Andrews, 
and  this  was  his  best  work.  The  date  of  his  death 
is  given  as  Dec.  29,  1868. 

THOMAS    OF    CELANO. 


Dies  irae!    dies  ilia, 
Solvet  saeclum  in  favilla. 
Teste  David  cum  Sybilla. 

Day  of  wrath!    that  day  of  burning. 
All  the  world  to  ashes  turning, 
Sung  by  prophets  far  discerning. 

Latin  ecclesiastical  poetry  reached  its  high 
water  mark  in  that  awful  hymn.  The  solitaire  of 
its  sphere  and  time  in  the  novelty  of  its  rhythmic 
triplets,  it  stood  a  wonder  to  the  church  and 
hierarchy  accustomed  to  the  slow  spondees  of  the 
ancient  chant.  There  could  be  such  a  thing  as  a 
trochaic  hymn! — and  majestic,  too! 

It  was  a  discovery  that  did  not  stale.  The  com- 
pelling grandeur  of  the  poem  placed  it  distinct  and 
alone,  and  the  very  difficulty  of  staffing  it  for  vocal 
and  instrumental  use  gave  it  a  zest,  and  helped  to 
keep  it  unique  through  the  ages. 

Latin  hymnody  and  hymnography,  appealing 
to  the  popular  ear  and  heart,  had  gradually  sub- 
stituted accent  for  quantity  in  verse;  for  the  com- 
mon people  could  never  be  moved  by  a  Christian 
song  in  the  prosody  of  the  classics.  The  religion 
of  the  cross,  with  the  song-preaching  of  its  pro- 
pagandists, created  medieval  Latin  and  made  it 


Dr.  Martin 
Luther 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  63 

a  secondary  classic — mother  of  four  anthem 
languages  of  Western  and  Southern  Europe.  Its 
golden  age  was  the  I2th  and  13th  centuries.  The 
new  and  more  flexible  school  of  speech  and  music 
in  hymn  and  tune  had  perfected  rhythmic  beauty 
and  brought  in  the  winsome  assonance  of  rhyme. 

The  "Dies  Irae"  was  born,  it  is  believed,  about 
the  year  1255.  Its  authorship  has  been  debated, 
but  competent  testimony  assures  us  that  the 
original  draft  of  the  great  poem  was  found  in  a 
box  among  the  effects  of  Thomas  di  Celano  after 
his  death.  Thomas — surnamed  Thomas  of  Celano 
from  his  birthplace,  the  town  of  Celano  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Aquila,  Southern  Italy — ^was  the  pupil,  friend 
and  co-laborer  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  wrote  his 
memoirs.  He  is  supposed  to  have  died  near  the  end 
of  the  13th  century.  That  he  wrote  the  sublime 
judgment  song  there  is  now  practically  no  question. 

The  label  on  the  discovered  manuscript  would 
suggest  that  the  writer  did  not  consider  it  either 
a  hymn  or  a  poem.  Like  the  inspired  prophets  he 
had  meditated — and  while  he  was  musing  the  fire 
burned.  The  only  title  he  wrote  over  it  was 
"  Prosa  de  mortuis,*'  Prosa  (or  prosa  oratio) — 
from  prorsus,  "straight  forward" — appears  here 
in  the  truly  conventional  sense  it  was  beginning  to 
bear,  but  not  yet  as  the  antipode  of  "poetry." 
The  modest  author,  unconscious  of  the  magnitude 
of  his  work,  called  it  simply  "Plain  speech  con- 
cerning the  dead."* 

*  *'Proses"  were  original  passages  introduced  into  ecclesiastical  chants  in  the 


64  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

The  hymn  is  much  too  long  to  quote  entire,  but 
can  be  found  in  Daniel's  Thesaurus  in  any  large 
public  library.  As  to  the  translations  of  it,  they 
number  hundreds — in  English  and  German  alone, 
and  Italy,  Spain  and  Portugal  have  their  ver- 
nacular versions — not  to  mention  the  Greek  and 
Russian  and  even  the  Hebrew.  A  fev^  stanzas  fol- 
low, with  their  renderings  into  EngHsh  (always 
imperfect)  selected  almost  at  random : 

Quantus  tremor  est  futurus 
Quando  Judex  est  venturus, 
Cuncta  stricte  discussurus! 

Tuba  mirum  spargens  sonum 
Per  sepulcra  regionum, 
Coget  omnes  ante  thronum! 

O  the  dread,  the  contrite  kneehng 
When  the  Lord,  in  Judgment  dealing, 
Comes  each  hidden  thing  reveaHng! 

When  the  trumpet's  awful  tone 
Through  the  realms  sepulchral  blown, 
Summons  all  before  the  Throne! 

The  solemn  strength  and  vibration  of  these 
tremendous  trihneals  suffers  no  general  injury  by 
the  variant  readings — and  there  are  a  good  many. 
As  a  sample,  the  first  stanza  was  changed  by  some 
canonical  redactor  to  get  rid  of  the  heathen  word 
Sybilla,  and  the  second  line  was  made  the  third : 

loth  century.  During  and  after  the  i  ith  century  they  were  called  "Sequences" 
(i.  e.  following  the  "Gospel"  in  the  liturgy),  and  were  in  metrical  form,  having 
a  prayerful  tone.  "Sequentia  pro  defunctis"  was  the  later  title  of  the  "Dies 
Irae." 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  65 

Dies  Irae,  dies  ilia 
Crucis  expandens  vexilla, 
Solvet  saeclum  in  favilla. 

Day  of  wrath!  that  day  foretold, 
With  the  cross-flag  wide  unrolled, 
Shall  the  world  in  fire  enfold  I 

In  some  readings  the  original  "in  favilla'*  is 
changed  to  *'rz/w  favilla,"  "wz//z  ashes"  instead  of 
*'in  ashes";  and  "Teste  Petro"  is  substituted 
for  "Teste  David." 

THE   TUNE, 

The  varieties  of  music  set  to  the  "Hymn  of 
Judgment"  in  the  different  sections  and  languages 
of  Christendom  during  seven  hundred  years  are 
probably  as  numerous  as  the  pictures  of  the  Holy 
Family  in  Christian  art.  It  is  enough  to  say  that 
one  of  the  best  at  hand,  or,  at  least,  accessible,  is 
the  solemn  minor  melody  of  Dr.  Dykes  in  William 
Henry  Monk's  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern.  It 
was  composed  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 
Both  the  Evangelical  and  Methodist  Hymnals  have 
Dean  Stanley's  translation  of  the  hymn,  the 
former  with  thirteen  stanzas  (six-line)  to  a  D 
minor  of  John  Stainer,  and  the  latter  to  a  C  major 
of  Timothy  Matthews.  The  Plymouth  Hymnal 
has  seventeen  of  the  trilineal  stanzas,  by  an  un- 
known translator,  to  Ferdinand  Hiller's  tune  in 
F  minor,  besides  one  verse  to  another  F  minor — 
hymn  and  tune  both  nameless. 


66  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

All  the  composers  above  named  are  musicians 
of  fame.  John  Stainer,  organist  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  was  a  Doctor  of  Music  and  Chevalier  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  celebrated  for  his  v^orks 
in  sacred  music,  to  which  he  mainly  devoted  his 
time.  He  was  born  June  6,  1840.  He  died  March 
31,1901. 

Rev.  Timothy  Richard  Matthews,  born  at  Colm- 
worth,  Eng.,  Nov.  20,  1826,  is  a  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  incumbent  of  a  Lancaster 
charge  to  which  he  was  appointed  by  Queen  Alex- 
andra. 

Ferdinand  Hiller,  born  181 1  at  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main,  of  Hebrew  parentage,  was  one  of  Germany's 
most  eminent  musicians.  For  many  years  he  was 
Chapel  Master  at  Cologne,  and  organized  the 
Cologne  Conservatory.  His  compositions  are 
mostly  for  instrumental  performance,  but  he  wrote 
cantatas,  motets,  male  choruses,  and  two  oratorios, 
one  on  the  "Destruction  of  Jerusalem."  Died 
May  10,  1855. 

The  Very  Rev.  Arthur  Penrhyn  Stanley,  Dean 
of  Westminster,  was  an  author  and  scholar  whom 
all  sects  of  Christians  delighted  to  honor.  His 
writings  on  the  New  Testament  and  his  published 
researches  in  Palestine,  made  him  an  authority  in 
Biblical  study,  and  his  contributions  to  sacred 
literature  were  looked  for  and  welcomed  as  eagerly 
as  a  new  hymn  by  Bonar  or  a  new  poem  by  Tenny- 
son. Dean  Stanley  was  born  in  1815,  and  died 
July  1 8th,  1 88 1. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  67 

THOMAS    A   KEMPIS. 

Thomas  h  Kempis,  sub-prior  of  the  Convent 
of  St.  Agnes,  was  born  at  Hamerkin,  Holland, 
about  the  year  1380,  and  died  at  Zwoll,  147 1.  This 
pious  monk  belonged  to  an  order  called  the 
*' Brethren  of  the  Common  Life"  founded  by 
Gerard  de  Groote,  and  his  fame  rests  entirely  upon 
his  one  book,  the  Imitation  of  Christ,  which 
continues  to  be  printed  as  a  religious  classic,  and 
is  unsurpassed  as  a  manual  of  private  devotion. 
His  monastic  life — as  was  true  generally  of  the 
monastic  life  of  the  middle  ages — was  not  one  of 
useless  idleness.  The  Brethren  taught  school  and 
did  mechanical  work.  Besides,  before  the  in- 
vention of  printing  had  been  perfected  and  brought 
into  common  service,  the  multiplication  of  books 
was  principally  the  work  of  monkish  pens.  Kem- 
pis spent  his  days  copying  the  Bible  and  good 
books — as  well  as  in  exercises  of  devotion  that 
promoted  religious  calm. 

His  idea  of  heaven,  and  the  idea  of  his  order, 
was  expressed  in  that  clause  of  John's  description 
of  the  City  of  God,  Rev.  22:3,  *'  and  His  servants 
shall  serve  Him.'^  Above  all  other  heavenly  joys 
that  was  his  favorite  thought.  We  can  well  under- 
stand that  the  pious  quietude  wrought  in  his  mind 
and  manners  by  his  habit  of  life  made  him  a  saint 
in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  The  frontispiece  of  one 
edition  of    his  Imitatio  Christi   pictures    him    as 


68  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

being  addressed  before  the  door  of  a  convent  by 
a  troubled  pilgrim, — 

**0  where  is  peace  ? — for  thou  its  paths  hast  trod," 
— and  his  answer  completes  the  couplet, — 

**In  poverty,  retirement,  and  with  God." 

Of  all  that  is  best  in  inward  spiritual  life,  much 
can  be  learned  from  this  inspired  Dutchman. 
He  wrote  no  hymns,  but  in  his  old  age  he  com- 
posed a  poem  on  "Heaven's  Joys,"  which  is  some- 
times called  "Thomas  k  Kempis'  Hymn'* : 

High  the  angel  choirs  are  raising 

Heart  and  voice  in  harmony; 
The  Creator  King  still  praising 

Whom  in  beauty  there  they  see. 

Sweetest  strains  from  soft  harps  stealing. 

Trumpets*  notes  of  triumph  pealing, 

Radiant  wings  and  white  stoles  gleaming 

Up  the  steps  of  glory  streaming; 

Where  the  heavenly  bells  are  ringing; 
"Holy!  holy!  holy!"  singing 

To  the  mighty  Trinity! 
"Holy!  holy!  holy!"  crying,  • 

For  all  earthly  care  and  sighing 
In  that  city  cease  to  be! 

These  lines  are  not  in  the  hymnals  of  today — 
and  whether  they  ever  found  their  way  into  choral 
use  in  ancient  times  we  are  not  told.  Worse  poetry 
has  been  sung — and  more  un-hymnlike.  Some 
future  composer  will  make  a  tune  to  the  words  of  a 
Christian  who  stood  almost  in  sight  of  his  hundredth 
year — and  of  the  eternal  home  he  writes  about. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  69 

MARTIN    LUTHER. 


"Ein  Feste  Burg  1st  U riser  Gott" 

Of  Martin  Luther  Coleridge  said,  "He  did  as 
much  for  the  Reformation  by  his  hymns  as  he  did 
by  his  translation  of  the  Bible."  The  remark  is  so 
true  that  it  has  become  a  commonplace. 

The  above  line — which  may  be  seen  inscribed 
on  Luther's  tomb  at  Wittenburg — is  the  opening 
sentence  and  key-note  of  the  Reformer's  grandest 
hymn.  The  forty-sixth  Psalm  inspired  it,  and  it 
is  in  harmony  with  sublime  historical  periods 
from  its  very  nature,  boldness,  and  sublimity.  It 
was  written,  according  to  Welles,  in  the  memorable 
year  when  the  evangelical  princes  delivered  their 
protest  at  the  Diet  of  Spires,  from  which  the  word  and 
the  meaning  of  the  word  "Protestant"  is  derived. 
"Luther  used  often  to  sing  it  in  1530,  while  the 
Diet  of  Augsburg  was  sitting.  It  soon  became  the 
favorite  psalm  with  the  people.  It  was  one  of  the 
watchwords  of  the  Reformation,  cheering  armies 
to  conflict,  and  sustaining  believers  in  the  hours  of 
fiery  trial." 

"After  Luther's  death, Melancthon,  his  aflPection- 
ate  coadjutor,  being  one  day  at  Weimar  with  his 
banished  friends,  Jonas  and  Creuziger,  heard  a 
little  maid  singing  this  psalm  in  the  street,  and 
said,  *Sing  on,  my  little  girl,  you  little  know  whom 
you  com! 


ifort:'" 


A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God, 
A  bulwark  never  failing; 


70  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Our  helper  He,  amid  the  flood 

Of  mortal  ills  prevailing. 
For  still  our  ancient  foe 
Doth  seek  to  work  us  woe; 
His  craft  and  power  are  great. 
And,  armed  with  cruel  hate, 

On  earth  is  not  his  equal. 

*     4c     :4c     :|c     :(c     * 

The  Prince  of  Darkness  grim — - 
We  tremble  not  for  him: 
His  rage  we  can  endure, 
For  lo!  his  doom  is  sure. 

One  little  word  shall  fell  him. 

That  word  above  all  earthly  powers — 

No  thanks  to  them — abideth; 
The  Spirit  and  the  gifts  are  ours. 

Through  Him  who  with  us  sideth. 
Let  goods  and  kindred  go, 
This  mortal  life  also; 
The  body  they  may  kill, 
God's  truth  abideth  still, 

His  kingdom  is  for  ever. 

Martin  Luther  was  born  in  Eisleben,  in  Saxony, 
Nov.  10,  1483.  He  was  educated  at  the  University 
of  Erfurth,  and  became  an  Augustinian  monk 
and  Professor  of  Philosophy  and  Divinity  in  the 
University  of  Wittenberg.  In  15 17  he  composed 
and  placarded  his  ninety-five  Theses  condemning 
certain  practices  of  the  Romish  Church  and  three 
years  later  the  Pope  published  a  bull  excom- 
municating him,  w^hich  he  burnt  openly  before  a 
sympathetic  multitude  in  Wittenberg.  His  life 
was  a  stormy  one,  and  he  was  more  than  once  in 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  7 1 

mortal  danger  by  reason  of  his  antagonism  to  the 
papal  authority,  but  he  found  powerful  patrons, 
and  lived  to  see  the  Reformation  an  organized  fact. 
He  died  in   his   birthplace,  Eisleben,  Feb.    i8th, 

The  translation  of  the  *'Ein  feste  burg,"  given 
above,  in  part,  is  by  Rev.  Frederick  Henry  Hedge, 
D.D.,  born  in  Cambridge,  March  1805,  a  graduate 
of  Harvard,  and  formerly  minister  of  the  Unitarian 
Church  in  Bangor,  Me.    Died,  1890. 

Luther  wrote  thirty-six  hymns,  to  some  of  which 
he  fitted  his  own  music,  for  he  was  a  musician  and 
singer  as  well  as  an  eloquent  preacher.  The  tune 
in  which  ''Ein  feste  Burg"  is  sung  in  the  hymnals, 
was  composed  by  himself.  The  hymn  has  also  a 
noble  rendering  in  the  music  of  Sebastian  Bach, 
8-4  time,  found  in  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern, 

BARTHOLOMEW  RINGWALDT. 
"Great  God,  What  Do  I  See  and  Hear?" 

The  history  of  this  hymn  is  somewhat  indefinite, 
though  common  consent  now  attributes  to  Ring- 
waldt  the  stanza  beginning  with  the  above  line. 
The  Imitation  of  the  "Dies  Irae"  in  German 
which  was  first  in  use  was  printed  in  Jacob  Klug's 
*' Gesanghuch'^  in  1535.  Ringwaldt's  hymn  of 
the  Last  Day,  also  inspired  from  the  ancient  Latin 
original,  appears  in  his  Handhuchlin  of  1586, 
but  does  not  contain  this  stanza.  The  first  line  is, 
"The    awful    Day    will    surely    come,"    (Es    ist 


72  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

gewisslich  an  der  Zeit).  Nevertheless  through 
the  more  than  two  hundred  years  that  the  hymn 
has  been  translated  and  re-translated,  and  gone 
through  inevitable  revisions,  some  vital  identity 
in  the  spirit  and  tone  of  the  one  seven-line  stanza 
has  steadily  connected  it  with  Ringwaldt*s  name. 
Apparently  it  is  the  single  survivor  of  a  great  lost 
hymn — edited  and  altered  out  of  recognition. 
But  its  power  evidently  inspired  the  added  verses, 
as  we  have  them.  Dr.  Collyer  found  it,  and, 
regretting  that  it  was  too  short  to  sing  in  public 
service,  composed  stanzas  2d,  3d  and  4th.  It  is 
likely  that  Collyer  first  met  with  it  in  Psalms  and 
Hymns  for  Public  and  Private  Devotion,  Sheffield 
1802,  where  it  appeared  anonymously.  So  far  as 
known  this  was  its  first  publication  in  English. 
Ringwaldt's  stanza  and  two  of  Collyer*s  are  here 
given : 

Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear! 

The  end  of  things  created! 
The  Judge  of  mankind  doth  appear 

On  clouds  of  glory  seated. 
The  trumpet  sounds,  the  graves  restore 
The  dead  which  they  contained  before; 

Prepare,  my  soul,  to  meet  Him. 

The  dead  in  Christ  shall  first  arise 

At  the  last  trumpet  sounding, 
Caught  up  to  meet  Him  in  the  skies. 

With  joy  their  Lord  surrounding. 
No  gloomy  fears  their  souls  dismay 
His  presence  sheds  eternal  day 

On  those  prepared  to  meet  Him. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  73 

Far  over  space  to  distant  spheres 

The  hghtnings  are  prevailing 
Th*  ungodly  rise,  and  all  their  tears 

And  sighs  are  unavailing. 
The  day  of  grace  is  past  and  gone; 
They  shake  before  the  Judge's  Throne 

All  unprepared  to  meet  Him. 

Batholomew  Ringwaldt,  pastor  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  of  Longfeld,  Prussia,  was  born  in  1531, 
and  died  in  1599.  His  hymns  appear  in  a  col- 
lection entitled  Hymns  for  the  Sundays  and  Festi- 
vals of  the  IV hole  Tear. 

Rev.  William  Bengo  Collyer  D.D.,  was  born 
at  Blackheath  near  London,  April  14,  1782, 
educated  at  Homerton  College  and  settled  over  a 
Congregational  Church  in  Peckham.  In  18 12  he 
published  a  book  of  hymns,  and  in  1837  a  Service 
Book  to  which  he  contributed  eighty-nine  hymns. 
He  died  Jan.  9,  1854. 

THE    TUNE, 

Probably  it  was  the  customary  singing  of  Ring- 
waldt's  hymn  (in  Germany)  to  Luther's  tune  that 
gave  it  for  some  time  the  designation  of  "Luther's 
Hymn,"  the  title  by  which  the  music  is  still  known 
— an  air  either  composed  or  adapted  by  Luther, 
and  rendered  perhaps  unisonously  or  with  ex- 
tempore chords.  It  was  not  until  early  in  the  last 
century  that  Vincent  Novello  wrote  to  it  the  noble 
arrangement  now  in  use.  It  is  a  strong,  even-time 
harmony  with   lofty   tenor   range,   and   very   im- 


74  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

pressive  with  full  choir  and  organ  or  the  vocal 
volume  of  a  congregation.  In  Cheetharns  Psalmody 
is  it  written  with  a  trumpet  obligato. 

Vincent  Novello,  born  in  London,  Sept.  6,  1781, 
the  intimate  friend  of  Lamb,  Shelley,  Keats,  Hunt 
and  Hazlitt,  was  a  professor  of  music  w^ho  attained 
great  eminence  as  an  organist  and  composer  of 
hymn-tunes  and  sacred  pieces.  He  was  the 
founder  of  the  publishing  house  of  Novello  and 
Ewer,  and  father  of  a  famous  musical  family. 
Died  at  Nice,  Aug.  9,  1861. 

ST.  FRANCIS  XAVIER. 


"0  Deus,  Ego  Amo  Te." 

Francis  Xavier,  the  celebrated  Jesuit  missionary, 
called  "The  Apostle  of  the  Indies,"  was  a  Spaniard, 
born  In  1506.  While  a  student  in  Paris  he  met 
Ignatius  Loyola,  and  joined  him  in  the  formation 
of  the  new  "Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith."  He  was  sent  out  on  a  mission  to  the  East 
Indies  and  Japan,  and  gave  himself  to  the  work 
with  a  martyr's  devotion.  The  stations  he  estab- 
lished in  Japan  were  maintained  more  than  a 
hundred  years.     He  died  In  China,  Dec.   1552. 

His  hymn,  some  time  out  of  use,  is  being  revived 
in  later  singing-books  as  expressive  of  the  purest 
and  highest  Christian  sentiment: 

O  Deus,  ego  amo  Te. 
Nee  amo  Te,  ut  salves  me, 
Aut  quia  non  amantes  Te 
-^terno  punis  igne. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  75 

My  God,  I  love  Thee — not  because 

I  hope  for  heaven  thereby; 
Nor  yet  because  v^ho  love  Thee  not 

Must  burn  eternally. 

After  recounting  Christ's  vicarious  sufferings 
as  the  chief  claim  to  His  disciples'  unselfish  love, 
the  hymn  continues, — 

Cur  igitur  non  amem  Te, 
O  Jesu  amantissime! 
Non,  ut  in  coelo  salves  me, 
Aut  in  aeternum  damnes  me. 

Then  why,  O  blessed  Jesus  Christ, 

Should  I  not  love  Thee  w^ell  ? 
Not  for  the  sake  of  winning  heaven, 

Nor  of  escaping  hell; 

Not  with  the  hope  of  gaining  aught, 

Nor  seeking  a  reward, 
But  as  Thyself  hast  loved  me. 

Oh,  ever-loving  Lord! 

E'en  so  I  love  Thee,  and  will  love, 

And  in  Thy  praise  will  sing; 
Solely  because  Thou  art  my  God 

And  my  eternal  King. 

The  translation  is  by  Rev.  Edv^ard  Caswall, 
18 14-1878,  a  priest  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 
Besides  his  translations,  he  published  the  Lyra 
Catholica,  the  Masque  of  Mary,  and  several  other 
poetical  v^orks.  (Page  loi.) 

THE   TUNE. 

"St.  Bernard" — apparently  so  named  because 
originally   composed   to    Casv^alFs   translation   of 


76  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

one  of  Bernard  of  Clairvaux's  hymns — is  by 
John  Richardson,  born  in  Preston,  Eng.,  Dec. 
4,  1817,  and  died  there  April  13,  1879.  ^^  ^^'^^ 
an  organist  in  Liverpool,  and  noted  as  a  composer 
of  glees,  but  was  the  author  of  several  sacred 
tunes. 

SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH. 

"Give  Me  My  Scallop-Shell  of  Quiet." 

Few  of  the  hymns  of  the  Elizabethan  era  survive, 
though  the  Ambrosian  Midnight  Hymn,  "Hark, 
'tis  the  Midnight  Cry,"  and  the  hymns  of  St.  Ber- 
nard and  Bernard  of  Cluny,  are  still  tones  in  the 
church,  and  the  religious  poetry  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  comes  down  to  us  associated  with  the 
history  of  his  brilliant,  though  tragic  career.  The 
following  poem  has  some  fine  lines  in  the  quaint 
English  style  of  the  period,  and  was  composed  by 
Sir  Walter  during  his  first  imprisonment: 

Give  me  my  scallop-shell  of  quiet, 

My  staff  of  faith  to  walk  upon, 
My  scrip  of  joy — immortal  diet — 

My  bottle  of  salvation, 
My  gown  of  glory,  hope's  true  gage — 
And  thus  I  take  my  pilgrimage. 

Blood  must  be  my  body's  balmer. 
While  my  soul,  like  faithful  palmer, 
Travelleth  toward  the  land  of  heaven; 
Other  balm  will  not  be  given. 

Over  the  silver  mountains 

Where  spring  the  nectar  fountains. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  77 

There  will  I  kiss  the  bowl  of  bliss, 
And  drink  my  everlasting  fill, 
Upon  every  milken  hill; 
My  soul  will  be  a-dry  before, 
But  after  that  will  thirst  no  more. 

The  musings  of  the  unfortunate  but  high- 
souled  nobleman  in  expectation  of  Ignominious 
death  are  Interesting  and  pathetic,  but  they  have 
no  claim  to  a  tune,  even  if  they  were  less  rugged 
and  unmetrlcal.  But  the  poem  stands  notable 
among  the  pious  Witnesses. 

MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS. 
**0  Domine  Deus,  Speravi  in  Te** 

This  last  passionate  prayer  of  the  unhappy 
Mary  Stuart  just  before  her  execution — in  a 
language  which  perhaps  flowed  from  her  pen  more 
easily  than  even  her  English  or  French — is  another 
witness  of  supplicating  faith  that  struggles  out  of 
darkness  with  a  song.  In  her  extremity  the  de- 
voted Catholic  forgets  her  petitions  to  the  Virgin, 
and  comes  to  Christ: 

O  Domine  Deus,  Speravi  in  Te; 

O  care  mi  Jesu,  nunc  libera  me! 
In  dura  catena,  in  misera  poena 

Desidero  Te! 
Languendo,  gemendo,  et  genuflectendo 
Adoro,  imploro  ut  liberes  me! 

My  Lord  and  my  God!    I  have  trusted  in  Thee; 
O  Jesus,  my  Saviour  belov'd,  set  me  free: 
In  rigorous  chains,  in  piteous  pains. 


yS  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

I  am  longing  for  Thee! 
In  weakness  appealing,  in  agony  kneeling, 
I  pray,  I  beseech  Thee,  O  Lord,  set  me  free! 

One  would,  at  first  thought,  judge  this  simple 
but  eloquent  cry  worthy  of  an  appropriate  tone- 
expression — to  be  sung  by  prison  evangelists  like 
the  Volunteers  of  America,  to  convicts  in  the  jails 
and  penitentiaries.  But  its  special  errand  and 
burden  are  voiced  so  literally  that  hardened 
hearers  would  probably  mi^pply  it — however 
sincerely  the  petitioner  herself  meant  to  invoke 
spiritual  rather  than  temporal  deliverance.  The 
hymn,  if  we  may  call  it  so,  is  too  literal.  Possibly 
at  some  time  or  other  it  may  have  been  set  to 
music  but  not  for  ordinary  choir  service. 

SAMUEL  RUTHERFORD. 

The  sands  of  time  are  sinking, 

But,  glory,  glory  dwelleth 
In  Immanuel's  Land. 

This  hymn  is  biographical,  but  not  autobio- 
graphical. Like  the  discourses  in  Herodotus  and 
Plutarch,  it  is  the  voice  of  the  dead  speaking 
through  the  sympathetic  genius  of  the  living  after 
long  generations.  The  strong,  stern  Calvinist  of 
1636  in  Aberdeen  was  not  a  poet,  but  he  be- 
queathed his  spirit  and  life  to  the  verse  of  a  poet  of 
1845  in  Melrose.  Anne  Ross  Cousin  read  his  two 
hr/ndred  and  twenty  letters  written  during  a  two 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  79 

years'  captivity  for  his  fidelity  to  the  purer  faith, 
and  studied  his  whole  history  and  experience  till 
her  soul  took  his  soul's  place  and  felt  what  he  felt. 
Her  poem  of  nineteen  stanzas  (152  lines)  is  the 
voice  of  Rutherford  the  Covenanter,  with  the 
prolixity  of  his  manner  and  age  sweetened  by  his 
triumphant  piety,  and  that  is  why  it  belongs  with 
the  Hymns  of  Great  ^Fitnesses.  The  three  or 
four  stanzas  still  occasionally  printed  and  sung 
are  only  recalled  to  memory  by  the  above  three 
lines. 

Samuel  Rutherford  was  born  in  Nisbet  Parish, 
Scotland,  in  1600.  His  settled  ministry  was  at 
Anworth,  in  Galloway — 1630-165 1 — with  a  break 
between  1636  and  1638,  when  Charles  I.  angered 
by  his  anti-prelatical  writings,  silenced  and  banished 
him.  Shut  up  In  Aberdeen,  but  allowed,  like 
Paul  in  Rome,  to  live  *'in  his  own  hired  house"  and 
write  letters,  he  poured  out  his  heart's  love  in  Epis- 
tles to  his  Anworth  flock  and  to  the  Non-conform- 
ists of  Scotland.  When  his  countrymen  rose  against 
the  attempted  Imposition  of  a  new  holy  Romish 
service-book  on  their  churches,  he  escaped  to  his 
people,  and  soon  after  appeared  In  Edinburgh  and 
signed  the  covenant  with  the  assembled  ministers. 
Thirteen  years  later,  after  Cromwell's  death  and 
the  accession  of  Charles  II.  the  wrath  of  the  pre- 
lates fell  on  him  at  St.  Andrews,  where  the  Pres- 
bytery had  made  him  rector  of  the  college.  The 
King's  decree  indicted  him  for  treason,  stripped 
him  of  all  his  offices,  and  would  have  forced  him  to 


8o  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

the  block  had  he  not  been  stricken  with  his  last  sick- 
ness. When  the  officers  came  to  take  him  he  said, 
"I  am  summoned  before  a  higher  Judge  and  Ju- 
dicatory, and  I  am  behooved  to  attend  them."  He 
died  soon  after,  in  the  year  1661. 

The  first,  and  a  few  other  of  the  choicest  stanzas 
of  the  hymn  inspired  by  his  life  and  death  are  here 
given: 

The  sands  of  time  are  sinking, 
The  dawn  of  heaven  breaks, 
The  summer  morn  I've  sighed  for — 

The  fair,  sweet  morn — awakes. 
Dark,  dark  hath  been  the  midnight. 

But  dayspring  is  at  hand; 
And  glory,  glory  dwelleth 
In  Immanuel's  land. 

:4c  :ic  t  *  4:  t 
Oh!  well  it  is  for  ever — 

Oh!  well  for  evermore: 
My  nest  hung  in  no  forest 

Of  all  this  death-doomed  shore; 
Yea,  let  this  vain  world  vanish, 

As  from  the  ship  the  strand, 
While  glory,  glory  dwelleth 

In  Immanuel's  land. 

****** 

The  little  birds  of  Anworth — 

I  used  to  count  them  blest; 
Now  beside  happier  altars 

I  go  to  build  my  nest; 
O'er  these  there  broods  no  silence 

No  graves  around  them  stand; 
For  glor)'  deathless  dwelleth 

Jn  Immanuel's  land. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  61 

I  have  borne  scorn  and  hatred, 

I  have  borne  wrong  and  shame, 
Earth's  proud  ones  have  reproached  me 

For  Christ's  thrice  blessed  name. 
Where  God's  seals  set  the  fairest, 

They've  stamped  their  foulest  brand; 
But  judgment  shines  like  noonday 

In  Immanuel's  land. 

They've  summoned  me  before  them, 

But  there  I  may  not  come; 
My  Lord  says,  "Come  up  hither;" 

My  Lord  says,  "Welcome  home;" 
My  King  at  His  white  throne 

My  presence  doth  command, 
Where  glory,  glory  dwelleth, 

In  Immanuel's  land. 

A  reminiscence  of  St.  Paul  in  his  second  Epis- 
tle to  Timothy  (chap.  4)  comes  with  the  last  two 
Stanzas. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  tender  and  appropriate  choral  in  B  flat, 
named  "Rutherford"  was  composed  by  D'Urhan, 
a  French  musician,  probably  a  hundred  years  ago. 
It  was  doubtless  named  by  those  who  long  after- 
wards fitted  it  to  the  words,  and  knew  whose  spirit- 
ual proxy  the  lady  stood  who  indited  the  hymn.  It 
is  reprinted  in  Peloubet's  Select  Songs,  and  in  the 
Coronation  Hymnal.  Naturally  in  the  days  of  the 
hymn's  more  frequent  use  people  became  accus- 
tomed to  calling  *'The  sands  of  time  are  sink- 
ing,"   "Rutherford's  Hymn."     Rutherford's  own 


82  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

words  certainly  furnished  the  memorable  refrain 
with  its  immortal  glow  and  gladness.  One  of  his 
joyful  exclamations  as  he  lay  dying  of  his  lingering 
disease  was,  "  Glory  shineth  in  Immanuel's  Land ! " 

Chretien  (Christian)  Urhan,  or  D'Urhan,  was 
born  at  Montjoie,  France,  about  1788,  and  died,  in 
Paris,  1845.  He  was  a  noted  violin-player,  and  com- 
poser, also,  of  vocal  and  instrumental  music. 

Mrs.  Anne  Ross  (Cundell)  Cousin,  daughter  of 
David  Ross  Cundell,  M.  D.,  and  widow  of  Rev.  Will- 
iam Cousin  of  the  Free  church  of  Scotland,  was 
born  in  Melrose  (  ?),  1824.  She  wrote  many  poems, 
most  of  which  are  beautiful  meditations  rather 
than  lyrics  suitable  for  public  song.  Her  "  Ruther- 
ford Hymn"  was  first  published  in  the  Christian 
Treasury,  1857. 

GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS. 
"Verzage  Nicht  Du  Hauflein  Klein." 

The  historian  tells  us  that  before  the  battle  of 
Lutzen,  duringthe  Thirty  Years'  War  (1618-1648), 
King  Gustavus  of  Sweden,  in  the  thick  fog  of  an 
autumn  morning,  with  the  Bohemian  and  Austrian 
armies  of  Emperor  Ferdinand  in  front  of  him,  knelt 
before  his  troops,  and  his  whole  army  knelt  with 
him  in  prayer.  Then  ten  thousand  voices  and  the 
whole  concert  of  regimental  bands  burst  forth  in 
this  brave  song: 

Fear  not,  O  little  flock,  the  foe 
Who  madly  seeks  your  overthrow, 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  83 

Dread  not  his  rage  and  power: 
What  though  your  courage  sometimes  faints. 
His  seeming  triumph  o'er  God's  saints 

Lasts  but  a  httle  hour. 

Be  of  good  cheer,  your  cause  belongs 
To  Him  who  can  avenge  your  wrongs; 

Leave  it  to  Him,  our  Lord: 
Though  hidden  yet  from  all  our  eyes, 
He  sees  the  Gideon  who  shall  rise 

To  save  us  and  His  word. 

As  true  as  God's  own  word  is  true. 
Nor  earth  nor  hell  with  all  their  crew, 

Against  us  shall  prevail: 
A  jest  and  by-word  they  are  grown; 
God  is  with  us,  we  are  His  own, 

Our  victory  cannot  fail. 

Amen,  Lord  Jesus,  grant  our  prayer! 
Great  Captain,  now  Thine  arm  make  bare, 

Fight  for  us  once  again: 
So  shall  Thy  saints  and  martyrs  raise 
A  mighty  chorus  to  Thy  praise. 

World  without  end.    Amen. 

The  army  of  Gustavus  moved  forward  to  victory 
as  the  fog  lifted;  but  at  the  moment  of  triumph  a 
riderless  horse  came  galloping  back  to  the  camp. 
It  was  the  horse  of  the  martyred  King. 

The  battle  song  just  quoted — next  to  Luther's 
"  Ein  feste  Burg  "  the  most  famous  German  hymn — 
has  always  since  that  day  been  called  "Gustavus 
Adolphus'  Hymn";  and  the  mingled  sorrow  and 
joy  of  the  event  at  Lutzen  named  it  also  "  King 
Gustavus'  Swan  Song."     Gustavus  Adolphus  did 


84  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

not  write  hymns.  He  could  sing  them,  and  he  could 
make  them  historic — and  it  was  this  connection 
that  identified  him  with  the  famous  battle  song.  Its 
author  was  the  Rev.  Johan  Michael  Altenburg,  a 
Lutheran  clergyman,  who  composed  apparently 
both  hymn  and  tune  on  receiving  news  of  the 
king's  victory  at  Leipsic  a  year  before. 

Gustavus  Adolphus  was  born  in  1594.  His 
death  on  the  battlefield  occurred  Nov.  5,  1632 — 
when  he  was  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood.  He  was 
one  of  the  greatest  military  commanders  in  history, 
besides  being  a  great  ruler  and  administrator,  and 
a  devout  Christian.  He  was,  during  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  (until  his  untimely  death),  the  leading 
champion  of  Protestantism  in  Europe. 

The  English  translator  of  the  battle  song  was 
Miss  Catherine  Winkworth,  born  in  London,  Sept. 
13,  1827.  She  was  an  industrious  and  successful 
translator  of  German  hymns,  contributing  many 
results  of  her  work  to  two  English  editions  of  the 
Lyra  Germania,  to  the  Church  Book  of  England,  and 
to  Christian  Singers  of  Germany.    She  died  in  1878. 

The  tune  of  "Ravendale"  by  Walter  Stokes 
(born  1847)  ^s  ^^^  ^^s^  modern  rendering  of  the 
celebrated  hymn. 

PAUL   GERHARDT. 
"Befiehl  Du  Deine  Wege." 

Paul  Gerhardt  was  one  of  those  minstrels  of  ex- 
perience who   are — 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  85 

"Cradled  Into  poetry  by  wrong, 
And  learn  in  suffering  what  they  teach  in  song." 

He  was  a  graduate  of  that  school  when  he  wrote 
his  "Hymn  of  Trust:'' 

Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs 

And  ways  into  His  hands; 
To  His  sure  trust  and  tender  care 

Who  earth  and  heaven  commands. 

Thou  on  the  Lord  rely, 

So,  safe,  shalt  thou  go  on; 
Fix  on  His  work  thy  steadfast  eye, 

So  shall  thy  work  be  done. 

****** 

Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears; 

Hope,  and  be  undismayed; 
God  hears  thy  sighs  and  counts  thy  tears, 

He  shall  lift  up  thy  head. 

Through  waves  and  clouds  and  storms 

He  gently  clears  thy  way; 
Wait  thou  His  time,  so  shall  this  night 

Soon  end  in  joyous  day. 

Gerhardt  was  born  at  Grafenhelnchen,  Saxony, 
1606.  Through  the  first  and  best  years  of  man- 
hood's strength  (during  the  Thirty  Year's  War), 
a  wandering  preacher  tossed  from  place  to  place, 
he  was  without  a  parish  and  without  a  home. 

After  the  peace  of  Westphalia  he  settled  in  the 
little  village  of  Mittenwalde.  He  was  then  forty- 
four  years  old.  Four  years  later  he  married  and  re- 
moved to  a  Berlin  church.  During  his  residence 
there  he  buried  his  wife,  and  four  of  his  children. 


86  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

was  deposed  from  the  ministry  because  his  Luther- 
an doctrines  offended  the  Elector  Frederick,  and 
finally  retired  as  a  simple  arch-deacon  to  a  small 
parish  in  Lubben,  where  he  preached,  toiled,  and 
suffered  amid  a  rough  and  uncongenial  people  till 
he  died,  Jan.  i6,  1676. 

Few  men  have  ever  lived  whose  case  more  needed 
a  *'Hymn  of  Trust" — and  fewer  still  could  have 
written  it  themselves.  Through  all  those  trial 
years  he  was  pouring  forth  his  soul  in  devout 
verses,  making  in  all  no  less  than  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  h)'mns — every  one  of  them  a  comfort 
to  others  as  well  as  to  himself. 

He  became  a  favorite,  and  for  a  time  the  favor- 
ite, hymn-writer  of  all  the  German-speaking 
people.  Among  these  tones  of  calm  faith  and  joy 
we  recognize  today  (in  the  English  tongue), — 

Since  Jesus  is  my  Friend, 
Thee,  O  Immanuel,  we  praise, 
All  my  heart  this  night  rejoices, 
How  shall  I  meet  Thee, 

— and  the  English  translation  of  his  *'0  Haupt  voll 
Blut  und  Wunden,"  turned  into  German  by  him- 
self from  St.  Bernard  Clairvaux's  "Salve  caput 
cruentatum,"  and  made  dear  to  us  in  Rev.  James 
Alexander's  beautiful  lines — 

O  sacred  head  now  wounded, 

With  grief  and  shame  weighed  down, 

Now  scornfully  surrounded 

With  thorns,  Thine  only  crown. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  Sj 

THE   TUNE. 

A  plain-song  by  Alexander  Relnagle  is  used  by 
some  congregations,  but  is  not  remarkably  ex- 
pressive. Reinagle,  Alexander  Robert,  (1799- 
1877)  of  Kidlington,  Eng.,  was  organist  to  the 
church  of  St.  Peter-in-the-East,  Oxford. 

'^he  great  "Hymn  of  Trust"  could  have  found 
no  more  sympathetic  interpreter  than  the  musician 
of  Gerhardt's  own  land  and  language,  Schumann, 
the  gentlfe  genius  of  Zwickau.  It  bears  the  name 
"Schumann,"  appropriately  enough,  and  its  elo- 
cution makes  a  volume  of  each  quatrain,  notably 
the  one — 

Who  points  the  clouds  their  coufse, 

Whom  wind  and  seas  obey; 
He  shall  direct  thy  wandering  feet, 

He  shall  prepare  thy  way. 

Robert  Schumann,  Ph.D.,  was  born  in  Zwickau, 
Saxony,  June  8,  18 10.  He  was  a  music  director 
and  conservatory  teacher,  and  the  master-mind  of 
the  pre-Wagnerian  period.  His  compositions  be- 
came popular,  having  a  character  of  their  own, 
combining  the  intellectual  and  beautiful  in  art. 
He  published  in  Leipsic  a  journal  promotive  of  his 
school  of  music,  and  founded  a  choral  society  in 
Dresden.  Happy  in  the  cooperation  of  his  wife,  her- 
self a  skilled  musician,  he  extended  his  work  to  Vieil-. 
na  and  the  Netherlands;  but  his  zeal  wore  him  out,  \ 
and  he  died  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  universally 
lamented  as  "the  eminent  man  who  had  done  so 
much  for  the  happiness  of  others." 


88  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Gerhardt's  Hymn  (ten  quatrains)  is  rarely 
printed  entire,  and  where  six  are  printed  only  four 
are  usually  sung.  Different  collections  choose  por- 
tions according  to  the  compiler's  taste,  the  stanza 
beginning — 

Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears, 

— being  with  some  a  favorite  first  verse. 

The  translation  of  the  hymn  from  the  German  is 
John  Wesley's. 

Purely  legendary  is  the  beautiful  story  of  the 
composition  of  the  hymn,  "Commit  thou  all  thy 
griefs";  how,  after  his  exile  from  Berlin,  traveling 
on  foot  with  his  weeping  wife,  Gerhardt  stopped 
at  a  wayside  inn  and  wrote  the  lines  while  he  rested; 
and  how  a  messenger  from  Duke  Christian  found 
him  there,  and  offered  him  a  home  in  Meresburg. 
But  the  most  ordinary  imagination  can  fill  in  the 
possible  incidents  in  a  life  of  vicissitudes  such  as 
Gerhardt's  was. 

LADY  HUNTINGDON, 


''When  Thou  My  Righteous  Judge  Shalt  Come." 

Selina  Shirley,.  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  born 
1707,  died  1 79 1,  is.familiarly  known  as  the  titled 
friend  and  patroness  of  Whitefield  and  his  fellow- 
preachers.  She  early  consecrated  herself  to  God, 
and  in  the  great  spiritual,  awakening  under  White- 
field  and  the  Wesleys  she  was  a  punctual  and 
sympathetic  helper.  Unitirik  with  the  Calvinistic 
Methodists,  she  neverdieless  stbiod  aloof  from  none 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  89 

who  preached  a  personal  Christ,  and  whose  watch- 
words were  the  salvation  of  souls  and  the  purifica- 
tion of  the  Church.  For  more  than  fifty  years 
she  devoted  her  wealth  to  benevolence  and  spiritual 
ministries,  and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four.  "  I 
have  done  my  work,"  was  her  last  testimony. 
"I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  to  myFather." 

At  various  times  Lady  Huntingdon  expressed 
her  religious  experience  in  verse,  and  the  manful 
vigor  of  her  school  of  faith  recalls  the  unbending 
confidence  of  Job^  for  she,  was  not  a  stranger  to 
affliction.  \ 

God*s  furnace  doth  in  Zion  stand, 

But  Zion's  God  sits  by, 
As  the  refiner  views  his  gold. 

With  an  observant  eye. 

His  thoughts  are  high.  His  love  is  wise. 

His  wounds  a  cure  intend; 
And,  though  He  does  not  always  smile, 

He  loves  unto  the  end. 

., — Her- great  hymn^  that  keeps  her  memory  green, 
has  the  old-fashioned  flavor.  "Massa  made  God 
BIG!"  was  the  comment  on  Dr.  Bellany  made  by 
his  old  negro  servant  after  that  noted  minister's 
death.  In  Puritan  piety  the  sternest  self-depreci- 
ation qualified  every  thought  of  the  creature,  while 
every  allusion  to  the  Creator  was  a  magnificat. 
Lady  Huntingdon's  hymn  has  no  flattering  phrases 
for  the  human  subject.  "Worthless  worm,"  and 
"vilest  of  them  all"  indicate  the  true  Pauline  or 
Oriental    prostration    of    self    before    a    superior 


go  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

being;  but  there  is  grandeur  in  the  metre,  the 
awful  reverence,  and  the  scene  of  judgment  in 
the  stanzas — always  remembering  the  mighty 
choral  that  has  so  long  given  the  lyric  its  voice  in 
the  church,  and  is  ancillary  to  its  fame: 

(^K      When  TLdu^  my  righteous  Judge,  shalt  come 
To  take  Thy  ransomed  people  home,     S/7^ 

Shall  I  among  them  stand  ? 
Shall  such  a  worthless  worm  as  I, 
Who  sometimes  am  afraid  to  die, 

Be  found  at  Thy  right  hand  ? 

I  love  to  meet  Thy  peop!e  now, 
Before  Thy  feet  with  them  to  bow, 
;^  :_t ,_  Though  vilest  of  them  all; 

l^^  ^  -       But  ca«t-I  bear  the  piercing  thought,   * 
What  if  my  name  should  be  left  out, 
When  Thou  for  them  shalt  call  ? 

O  Lord,  prevent  it  by  Thy  grace: 
^^J-v^r*^^^"        Be  Thou  my  only  hiding  place, 
j^<i'  In  this  tJiLaccepted-day; 

Thy  pardoning  voice,  oh  let  me  hear, 
To  still  my  unbelieving  fear, 

Nor  let  me  fall,  I  .pray.      ^^^  ^-H 

Among  Thy  saints  let  me  be  found, 
Whene'er  the  archangel's  trump  shall  sound, 

To  see  Thy  smiling  face; 
Then  loudest  of  the  th^rong  I'll  sing, 
y»v  While  heaven's  resounding  afchrs'ring 

Wjth-^K>ut^j^:«ovefeig«  grace. 
yW  a  <  ^  *^"^      * ,'  '■  *  '^ 
THE   TUNE. 

The  tune  of  "Meribah,"  in  which  this  hymn  has 
been  sung  for  the  last  sixty  or  more  years,  is  one  of 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  9 1 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason's  masterpieces.  An  earlier 
German  harmony  attributed  to  Heinrich  Isaac 
and  named  "Innsbruck"  has  in  some  few  cases 
claimed  association  WTth  the  words,  though  com- 
posed two  hundred  years  before  Lady  Huntingdon 
was  born.  It  is  strong  and  solemn,  but  its  cold 
psalm-tune  movement  does  not  utter  the  deep 
emotion  of  the  author's  lines.  *'Meribah"  was 
inspired  by  the  hymn  itself,  and  there  is  nothing 
invidious  in  saying  it  illustrates  the  fact,  memor- 
able in  all  hymnology,  of  the  natural  obligation  of 
a  hymn  to  its  tune. 

Apropos  of  both,  it  is  related  that  Mason  was 
once  presiding  at  choir  service  in  a  certain  church 
where  the  minister  gave  out  "When  thou  my 
righteous  Judge  shalt  come"  and  by  mistake 
directed  the  singers  to  "omit  the  second  stanza." 
Mason  sat  at  the  organ,  and  while  playing  the  last 
strain,  "Be  found  at  thy  right  hand,"  glanced 
ahead  in  the  hymnbook  and  turned  with  a  start 
just  in  time  to  command,  "Sing  the  next  verse!" 
The  choir  did  so,  and  "O  Lord,  prevent  it  by  Thy 
grace!"  was  saved  from  being  a  horrible  prayer 
to  be  kept  out  of  heaven. 

ZINZENDORF. 


"Jesus,  Thy  Blood  and  Righteousness." 

Nicolaus  Ludwig,  Count  Von  Zinzendorf,  was 
born  at  Dresden,  May  26,  1700,  and  educated  at 
Halle  and  Wittenberg.    From  his  youth  he  evinced 


92  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

marked  seriousness  of  mind,  and  deep  religious 
sensibilities,  and  this  character  appeared  in  his 
sympathy  with  the  persecuted  Moravians,  to  whom 
he  gave  domicile  and  domain  on  his  large  estate. 
For  eleven  years  he  was  Councillor  to  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  but  subsequently,  uniting  with  the 
Brethren's  Church,  he  founded  the  settlement 
of  Herrnhut,  the  first  home  and  refuge  of  the 
reorganized  sect,  and  became  a  Moravian  minister 
and  bishop. 

Zinzendorf  was  a  man  of  high  culture,  as  well 
as  profound  and  sincere  piety  and  in  his  hymns 
(of  which  he  wrote  more  than  two  thousand)  he 
preached  Christ  as  eloquently  as  with  his  voice. 
The  real  birth-moment  of  his  religious  life  is  said 
to  have  been  simultaneous  with  his  study  of  the 
"Ecce  Homo"  in  the  Dusseldorf  Gallery,  a  won- 
derful painting  of  Jesus  crowned  with  thorns. 
Visiting  the  gallery  one  day  when  a  young  man,  he 
gazed  on  the  sacred  face  and  read  the  legend 
superscribed,  "All  this  I  have  done  for  thee; 
What  doest  thou  for  me?"  Ever  afterwards  his 
motto  was  "I  have  but  one  passion,  and  that  is 
He,  and  only  He" — a  version  of  Paul's  "For  me 
to  live  is  Christ." 

Jesus,  Thy  blood  and  righteousness 
My  beauty  are,  my  glorious  dress: 
'Midst  flaming  worlds,  in  these  arrayed, 
With  joy  shall  I  lift  up  my  head, 

Bold  shall  I  stand  in  Thy  great  day, 
For  who  aught  to  my  charge  shall  lay  ? 


SOME    HYrvlNS    OF    GREAT   WITNESSES.  93 

Fully  absolved  through  these  I  am — 
From  sin  and  fear,  from  guilt  and  shame. 

Lord,  I  believe  were  sinners  more 
Than  sands  upon  the  ocean  shore, 
Thou  hast  for  all  a  ransom  paid, 
For  all  a  full  atonement  made. 

Nearly  all  the  hymns  of  the  great  Moravian  are 
now  out  of  general  use,  having  accomplished  their 
mission,  like  the  forgotten  ones  of  Gerhardt,  and 
been  superseded  by  others.  More  sung  in  Europe, 
probably,  now  than  any  of  the  survivors  is,  "  Jesus, 
geh  voran,"  ("Jesus,  lead  on,")  which  has  been 
translated  into  English  by  Jane  Borthwick* 
(1854).  Two  others,  both  translated  by  John 
Wesley,  are  with  us,  the  one  above  quoted,  and 
"Glory  to  God,  whose  witness  train."  "Jesus, 
Thy  blood,"  which  is  the  best  known,  frequently  ap- 
pears with  the  alteration — 

Jesus,  Thy  rohe  of  righteousness 
My  beauty  is,  my  glorious  dress. 

THE   TUNE. 

"Malvern,"  and  "Uxbridge"  a  pure  Gregorian, 
both  by  Lowell  Mason,  are  common  expressions 
of  the  hymn — the  latter,  perhaps,  generally  pre- 
ferred, being  less  plaintive  and  speaking  with  a 
surer  and  more  restful  emphasis. 

♦Born   in   Edinburgh   1813. 


94  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

ROBERT  SEAGRAVE. 
"Rise,  My  Soul,  and  Stretch  Thy  Wings." 

This  hymn  was  written  early  in  the  1 8th  century, 
by  the  Rev.  Robert  Seagrave,  born  at  Twyford, 
Leicestershire,  Eng.,  Nov.  22,  1693.  Educated 
at  Cambridge,  he  took  holy  orders  in  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  but  espoused  the  cause  of  the  great 
evangelistic  movement,  and  became  a  hearty  co- 
worker with  the  Wesleys.  Judging  by  the  lyric 
fire  he  could  evidently  put  into  his  verses,  one 
involuntarily  asks  if  he  would  not  have  written 
more,  and  been  in  fact  the  song-leader  of  the 
spiritual  reformation  if  there  had  been  no  Charles 
Wesley.  There  is  not  a  hymn  of  Wesley's  in  use 
on  the  same  subject  equal  to  the  one  immortal 
hymn  of  Seagrave,  and  the  only  other  near  its 
time  that  approaches  it  in  vigor  and  appealing 
power  is  Doddridge's  "Awake  my  soul,  stretch 
every  nerve." 

But  Providence  gave  Wesley  the  harp  and  ap- 
pointed to  the  elder  poet  a  branch  of  possibly 
equal  usefulness,  where  he  was  kept  too  busy  to 
enter  the  singers'  ranks. 

For  eleven  years  he  was  the  Sunday-evening 
lecturer  at  Lorimer's  Hall,  London,  and  often 
preached  in  Whitefield's  Tabernacle.  His  hymn 
is  one  of  the  most  soul-stirring  in  the  English 
language: 

Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings; 
Thy  better  portion  trace; 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  95 

Rise  from  transitory  things 

Toward  Heaven,  thy  native  place; 

Sun  and  moon  and  stars  decay, 
Time  shall  soon  this  earth  remove; 

Rise,  my  soul  and  haste  away 
To  seats  prepared  above. 

Rivers  to  the  ocean  run, 

Nor  stay  in  all  their  course; 
Fire  ascending  seeks  the  sun; 

Both  speed  them  to  their  source: 
So  a  soul  that's  born  of  God 

Pants  to  view  His  glorious  face, 
Upward  tends  to  His  abode 

To  rest  in  His  embrace. 

Cease,  ye  pilgrims,  cease  to  mourn, 

Press  onward  to  the  prize; 
Soon  your  Saviour  will  return 

Triumphant  in  the  skies. 
Yet  a  season,  and  you  know 

Happy  entrance  will  be  given; 
All  our  sorrows  left  below, 

And  earth  exchanged  for  heaven. 

This  hymn  must  have  found  its  predestinated 
organ  when  it  found — 

THE   TUNE. 

"Amsterdam,"  the  work  of  James  Nares,  had 
its  birth  and  baptism  soon  after  the  work  of 
Seagrave;  and  they  have  been  breath  and  bugle 
to  the  church  of  God  ever  since  they  became  one 
song.  In  The  Great  Musicians,  edited  by  Francis 
HufFer,  is  found  this  account  of  James  Nares: 


96  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

"He  was  born  at  Hanwell,  Middlesex, in  1715; 
was  admitted  chorister  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  under 
Bernard  Gates,  and  when  he  was  able  to  play  the 
organ  was  appointed  deputy  for  Pigott,  of  St. 
George's  Chapel,  Windsor,  and  became  organist 
at  York  Minster  in  1734.  He  succeeded  Greene 
as  organist  and  composer  to  the  Chapel  Royal  in 
1756,  and  in  the  same  year  was  made  Doctor  of 
Music  at  Cambridge.  He  was  appointed  master 
of  the  children  of  the  Chapel  Royal  in  1757,  on 
the  death  of  Gates.  This  post  he  resigned  in 
1780,  and  he  died  in  1783,  (February  10,)  and 
was  buried  in  St.  Margaret's  Church,  West- 
minster. 

"He  had  the  reputation  of  being  an  excellent 
trainer  of  boy's  voices,  many  of  his  anthems  having 
been  written  to  exhibit  the  accomplishments  of 
his  young  pupils.  The  degree  of  excellence  the 
boys  attained  was  not  won  in  those  days  without 
the  infliction  of  much  corporal  punishment." 

Judging  from  the  high  pulse  and  action  in  the 
music  of  "Amsterdam,"  one  would  guess  the 
energy  of  the  man  who  made  boy  choirs — and 
made  good  ones.  In  the  old  time  the  rule  was, 
"  Birds  that  can  sing  and  won't  sing,  must  be  made 
to  sing";  and  the  rule  was  sometimes  enforced 
with  the  master's  time-stick. 

A  tune  entitled  "Excelsius,"  written  a  hundred 
years  later  by  John  Henry  Cornell,  so  nearly 
resembles  "Amsterdam"  as  to  suggest  an  intention 
to  amend  it.     It  changes  the  modal  note  from  G 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  97 

to  A,  but  while  it  marches  at  the  same  pace  it 
lacks  the  jubilant  modulations  and  the  choral 
glory  of  the  18th-century  piece. 

SIR  JOHN  BOWRING. 
"In  the  Cross  of  Christ  I  Glory." 

In  this  hymn  we  see,  sitting  humbly  at  the  feet 
of  the  great  author  of  our  religion,  a  man  who  im- 
pressed himself  perhaps  more  than  any  other  save 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  upon  his  own  generation, 
and  who  was  the  wonder  of  Europe  for  his  im- 
mense attainments  and  the  versatility  of  his  powers. 
Statesman,  philanthropist,  biographer,  publicist, 
linguist,  historian,  financier,  naturalist,  poet, 
political  economist — there  is  hardly  a  branch  of 
knowledge  or  a  field  of  research  from  which  he 
did  not  enrich  himself  and  others,  or  a  human 
condition   that   he   did   not  study   and   influence. 

Sir  John  Bowring  was  born  in  1792.  When  a 
youth  he  was  Jeremy  Bentham's  political  pupil, 
but  gained  his  first  fame  by  his  vast  knowledge  of 
European  literature,  becoming  acquainted  with 
no  less  than  thirteen*  continental  languages  and 
dialects.  He  served  in  consular  appointments  at 
seven  different  capitals,  carried  important  reform 
measures  in  Parliament,  was  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary to  China  and  Governor  of  Hong  Kong,  and 
concluded  a  commercial  treaty  with  Siam,  where 
every  previous  commissioner  had  failed.     But  in 

♦Exaggerated  in  some  accounts  to  jorty. 


98  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

all  his  crowded  years  the  pen  of  this  tireless  and 
successful  man  was  busy.  Besides  his  political, 
economic  and  religious  essays,  which  made  him 
a  member  of  nearly  every  learned  society  in 
Europe,  his  translations  were  countless,  and 
poems  and  hymns  of  his  own  composing  found 
their  way  to  the  public,  among  them  the  tender 
spiritual  song, — 

How  sweetly  flowed  the  Gospel  sound 
From  lips  of  gentleness  and  grace 

When  listening  thousands  gathered  round, 
And  joy  and  gladness  filled  the  place, 

— and  the  more  famous  hymn  indicated  at  the  head 
of  this  sketch.  Knowledge  of  all  religions  only 
qualified  him  to  worship  the  Crucified  with  both 
faith  and  reason.  Though  nominally  a  Unitarian, 
to  him,  as  to  Channing  and  Martineau  and  Ed- 
mund Sears,  Christ  was  "all  we  know  of  God." 
Bowring  died  Nov.  23,  1872.  But  his  hymn 
to  the  Cross  will  never  die: 

In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory, 

Towering  o'er  the  wrecks  of  time; 

All  the  light  of  sacred  story 

Gathers  round  its  head  sublime. 

When  the  woes  of  life  o'ertake  me 

Hopes  deceive,  and  fears  annoy, 
Never  shall  the  cross  forsake  me; 

Lo!  it  glows  with  peace  and  joy. 

When  the  sun  of  bliss  is  beaming 

Light  and  love  upon  my  way, 
From  the  cross  the  radiance  streaming 

Adds  new  lustre  to  the  day. 


SOME    HYMNS    OF    GREAT    WITNESSES.  99 

Bane  and  blessing,  pain  and  pleasure 

By  the  cross  are  sanctified, 
Peace  is  there  that  knows  no  measure, 

Joys  that  through  all  time  abide. 

THE   TUNE. 

Ithamar  Conkey's  "Rathbun"  fits  the  adoring 
words  as  if  they  had  waited  for  it.  Its  air,  swelHng 
through  diatonic  fourth  and  third  to  the  supreme 
syllable,  bears  on  its  waves  the  homage  of  the  lines 
from  bar  to  bar  till  the  four  voices  come  home  to 
rest  full  and  satisfied  in  the  final  chord — 
Gathers  round  its  head  sublime. 

Ithamar  Conkey,  was  born  of  Scotch  ancestry, 
in  Shutesbury,  Mass.,  May  5th,  18 15.  He  was  a 
noted  bass  singer,  and  was  for  a  long  time  con- 
nected with  the  choir  of  the  Calvary  church.  New 
York  City,  and  sang  the  oratorio  solos.  His  tune 
of  "Rathbun"  was  composed  in  1847,  and  pub- 
lished in  Greatorex's  collection  in  1851.  He  died 
in  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  April  30,  1867. 


CHAPTER    III 


HYMNS  OF  CHRISTIAN  DEVO- 
TION  AND  EXPERIENCE. 


"JESU  DULCIS  MEMORIA." 
"Jesus  the  Very  Thought  of  Thee." 

The  original  of  this  delightful  hymn  is  one  of 
the  devout  meditations  of  Bernard  of  Clairvaux, 
a  Cistercian  monk  (1091-1153).  He  was  born  of 
a  noble  family  in  or  near  Dijon,  Burgundy,  and 
when  only  twenty-three  years  old  established  a 
monastery  at  Clairvaux,  France,  over  which  he 
presided  as  its  first  abbot.  Educated  in  the 
University  of  Paris,  and  possessing  great  natural 
abilities,  he  soon  made  himself  felt  in  both  the 
religious  and  political  affairs  of  Europe.  For  more 
than  thirty  years  he  was  the  personal  power  that 
directed  belief,  quieted  turbulence,  and  arbitrated 
disputes,  and  kings  and  even  popes  sought  his 
counsel.  It  was  his  eloquent  preaching  that  in- 
spired the  second  crusade. 

His  fine  poem  of  feeling,  in  fifty  Latin  stanzas, 
has  been  a  source  of  pious  song  in  several  languages; 

(100) 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  lOI 

Jesu,  dulcis  memorla 

Dans  vera  cordi  gaudia, 

Sed  super  mel  et  omnium 

Ejus  dulcis  presentia. 
Literally — • 

Jesus!    a  sweet  memory 

Giving  true  joys  to  the  heart, 

But  sweet  above  honey  and  all  things 

His  presence  [is]. 

The  five  stanzas  (of  CaswalFs  free  translation) 
now  in  use  are  familiar  and  dear  to  all  English- 
speaking  believers: 

Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  Thee 
With  sweetness  fills  my  breast. 
But  sweeter  far  Thy  face  to  see. 
And  in  Thy  presence  rest. 

Nor  voice  can  sing  nor  heart  can  frame 

Nor  can  the  memory  find, 
A  sweeter  sound  than  Thy  blest  name, 

O  Saviour  of  mankind. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Caswall  was  born  In  Hamp- 
shire, Eng.,  July  15,  1814,  the  son  of  a  clergyman. 
He  graduated  with  honors  at  Brazenose  College, 
Oxford,  and  after  ten  years  of  service  in  the  minis- 
try of  the  Church  of  England  joined  Henry  New- 
man's Oratory  at  Birmingham,  was  confirmed  in  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  devoted  the  rest  of  his  life  to 
works  of  piety  and  charity.  He  died  Jan.  2,  1878. 

THE   TUNE. 

No  single  melody  has  attached  itself  to  this 
hymn,  the  scope  of  selection  being  as  large  as  the 


102  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

supply  of  appropriate  common-metre  tunes.  Barn- 
by's  "Holy  Trinity,"  Wade's  "Holy  Cross"  and 
Griggs'  tune  (of  his  own  name)  are  all  good,  but 
many,  on  the  giving  out  of  the  hymn,  would  as- 
sociate it  at  once  with  the  more  familiar  "Heber" 
by  George  Kingsley  and  expect  to  hear  it  sung. 
It  has  the  uplift  and  unction  of  John  Newton's — 

How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds 
In  the  behever's  ear. 

"GOD  CALLING  YET!    SHALL  I  NOT  HEAR.?" 

Gerhard  Tersteegen,  the  original  author  of  the 
hymn,  and  one  of  the  most  eminent  religious  poets 
of  the  Reformed  German  church  in  its  early  days, 
was  born  in  1697,  in  the  town  of  Mors,  in  West- 
phalia. He  was  left  an  orphan  in  boyhood  by  the 
death  of  his  father,  and  as  his  mother's  means  were 
limited,  he  was  put  to  work  as  an  apprentice  when 
very  young,  at  Muhlheim  on  the  Rhur,  and  be- 
came a  ribbon  weaver.  Here,  when  about  fifteen 
years  of  age,  he  became  deeply  concerned  for  his 
soul,  and  experienced  a  deep  and  abiding  spiritual 
work.  As  a  Christian,  his  religion  partook  of  the 
ascetic  type,  but  his  mysticism  did  not  make  him 
useless  to  his  fellow-men. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  he  dedicated  all  his 
resources  and  energies  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
writing  the  dedication  in  his  own  blood.  "God 
graciously  called  me,"  he  says,  "out  of  the  world, 
and  granted  me  the  desire  to  belong  to  Him,  and 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  IO3 

to  be  willing  to  follow  Him."  He  gave  up  secular 
employments  altogether,  and  devoted  his  whole 
time  to  religious  instruction  and  to  the  poor.  His 
house  became  famous  as  the  ''Pilgrims'  Cottage," 
and  was  visited  by  people  high  and  humble  from 
all  parts  of  Germany.  In  his  lifetime  he  is  said 
to  have  written  one  hundred  and  eleven  hymns. 
Died  April  3,  1769. 

God  calling  yet!  shall  I  not  hear? 
Earth's  pleasures  shall  I  still  hold  dear  ? 
Shall  life's  swift-passing  years  all  fly, 
And  still  my  soul  in  slumber  lie  ? 

God  calling  yet!    I  cannot  stay; 

My  heart  I  yield  without  delay. 

Vain  world,  farewell;  from  thee  I  part; 

The  voice  of  God  hath  reached  my  heart. 

The  hymn  was  translated  from  the  German  by 
Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  born  in  Edinburgh,  18 13. 
She  and  her  younger  sister,  Mrs.  Findlater,  jointly 
translated  and  published,  in  1854,  Hymns  From 
the  Land  of  Luther,  and  contributed  many  poetical 
pieces  to  the  Family  Treasury.     She  died  in  1897. 

Another  translation,  imitating  the  German  metre, 
is  more  euphonious,  though  less  literal  and  less 
easily  fitted  to  music  not  specially  composed  for  it, 
on  account  of  its  "feminine"  rhymes: 

God  calling  yet!  and  shall  I  never  hearken? 
But  still  earth's  witcheries  my  spirit  darken; 
This  passing  life,  these  passing  joys  all  flying, 
And  still  my  soul  in  dreamy  slumbers  lying  I 


104  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

THE    TUNE. 

Dr.  Dykes'  "Rivaulx"  is  a  sober  choral  that 
articulates  the  hymn-writer's  sentiment  with  sin- 
cerity and  with  considerable  earnestness,  but 
breathes  too  faintly  the  interrogative  and  ex- 
postulary  tone  of  the  lines.  To  voice  the  devout 
solicitude  and  self-remonstrance  of  the  hymn  there 
is  no  tune  superior  to  "Federal  St." 

The  Hon.  Henry  Kemble  Oliver,  author  of  "  Fed- 
eral St.,"  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass.,  March,  1800, 
and  was  addicted  to  music  from  his  childhood. 
His  father  compelled  him  to  relinquish  it  as  a 
profession,  but  it  remained  his  favorite  avocation, 
and  after  his  graduation  from  Harvard  the  cares 
of  none  of  the  various  public  positions  he  held, 
from  schoolmaster  to  treasurer  of  the  state  of 
Massachusetts,  could  ever  wean  him  from  the  study 
of  music  and  its  practice.  At  the  age  of  thirty-one, 
while  sitting  one  day  in  his  study,  the  last  verse  of 
Anne  Steele's  hymn — 

So  fades  the  lovely  blooming  flower, 

— floated  into  his  mind,  and  an  unbidden  melody 
came  with  it.  As  he  hummed  it  to  himself  the 
words  shaped  the  air,  and  the  air  shaped  the 
words. 

Then  gentle  patience  smiles  on  pain, 

Then  dying  hope  revives  again, 

— became — 

See  gentle  patience  smile  on  pain; 
See  dying  hope  revive  again; 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  IO5 

— and  with  the  change  of  a  word  and  a  tense  the 
hymn  created  the  melody,  and  soon  afterward 
the  complete  tune  was  made.  Two  years  later  it 
was  published  by  Lowell  Mason,  and  Oliver  gave 
it  the  name  of  the  street  in  Salem  on  which  his 
wife  was  born,  wooed,  won,  and  married.  It  adds 
a  pathos  to  its  history  that  "Federal  St.'*  was  sung 
at  her  burial. 

This  first  of  Oliver's  tunes  was  followed  by 
"Harmony  Grove,"  "Morning,"  "Walnut  Grove," 
"Merton,"  "Hudson,"  "Bosworth,"  "Salisbury 
Plain,"  several  anthems  and  motets,  and  a  "Te 
Deum.'' 

In  his  old  age,  at  the  great  Peace  Jubilee  in 
Boston,  1872,  the  baton  was  put  into  his  hands, 
and  the  gray-haired  composer  conducted  the 
chorus  of  ten  thousand  voices  as  they  sang  the 
words  and  music  of  his  noble  harmony.  The 
incident  made  "Federal  St."  more  than  ever  a 
feature  of  New  England  history.  Oliver  died  in 
1885. 

"MY  GOD,  HOW  ENDLESS  IS  THY  LOVE." 

The  spirited  tune  to  this  hymn  of  Watts,  by 
Frederick  Lampe,  variously  named  "Kent"  and 
"Devonshire,"  historically  reaches  back  so  near 
to  the  poet's  time  that  it  must  have  been  one  of  the 
earliest  expressions  of  his  fervent  words. 

Johan  Friedrich  Lampe,  born  1693,  in  Saxony, 
was  educated  in  music  at  Helmstadt,  and  came  to 


I06  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

England  in  1725  as  a  band  musician  and  composer 
to  Covent  Garden  Theater.  His  best-known  sec- 
ular piece  is  the  music  written  to  Henry  Carey's 
burlesque,  "The  Dragon  of  Wantley." 

Mrs.  Rich,  wife  of  the  lessee  of  the  theater,  was 
converted  under  the  preaching  of  the  Methodists, 
and  after  her  husband's  death  her  house  became 
the  home  of  Lampe  and  his  wife,  where  Charles 
Wesley  often  met  him. 

The  influence  of  Wesley  won  him  to  more  seri- 
ous work,  and  he  became  one  of  the  evangelist's 
helpers,  supplying  tunes  to  his  singing  campaigns. 
Wesley  became  attached  to  him,  and  after  his 
death — in  Edinburgh,  1752 — commemorated  the 
musician  in  a  funeral  hymn. 

In  popular  favor  Bradbury's  tune  of  **Rolland" 
has  now  superseded  the  old  music  sung  to  Watts' 
lines — 

My  God,  how  endless  is  Thy  love, 
Thy  gifts  are  every  evening  new. 
And  morning  mercies  from  above 
Gently  distil  like  early  dew. 

:(:     :|c     :<c     :):     4c     * 

I  yield  my  powers  to  Thy  command; 

To  Thee  I  consecrate  my  days; 
Perpetual  blessings  from  Thy  hand 

Demand  perpetual  songs  of  praise. 

William  Batchelder  Bradbury,  a  pupil  of  Dr. 
Lowell  Mason,  and  the  pioneer  in  publishing 
Sunday-school  music,  was  born  1816,  in  York,  Me. 
His  father,   a  veteran  of  the  Revolution,  was   a 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  IO7 

choir  leader,  and  William's  love  of  music  was  in- 
herited. He  left  his  father's  farm,  and  came  to 
Boston,  where  he  first  heard  a  church-organ. 
Encouraged  by  Mason  and  others  to  follow  music 
as  a  profession,  he  went  abroad,  studied  at  Leipsic, 
and  soon  after  his  return  became  known  as  a 
composer  of  sacred  tunes.  He  died  in  Montclair, 
N.  J.,  1868. 

"FM  NOT  ASHAMED  TO  OWN  MY  LORD." 

The  favorite  tune  for  this  spiritual  hymn,  also  by 
Watts,  is  old  "Arlington,"  one  of  the  most  useful 
church  melodies  in  the  whole  realm  of  English 
psalmody.  Its  name  clings  to  a  Boston  street,  and 
the  beautiful  chimes  of  Arhngton  St.  church 
(Unitarian)  annually  ring  its  music  on  special 
occasions,  as  it  has  since  the  bells  were  tuned: 

Tm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord 

Or  to  defend  His  cause, 
Maintain  the  honor  of  His  Word, 

The  glory  of  His  cross. 

Jesus,  my  God! — I  know  His  Name; 

His  Name  is  all  my  trust, 
Nor  will  He  put  my  soul  to  shame 

Nor  let  my  hope  be  lost. 

Dr.  Thomas  Augustine  Arne,  the  creator  of 
"Arlington,"  was  born  in  London,  1710,  the  son 
of  a  King  St.  upholsterer.  He  studied  at  Eton,  and 
though  intended  for  the  legal  profession,  gave  his 
whole  mind  to  music.     At  twenty-three  he  began 


I08         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

writing  operas  for  his  sister,  Susanna  (a  singer 
who  afterwards  became  the  famous  tragic  actress, 
Mrs.  Gibber). 

Arne's  music  to  Milton's  "Comus,"  and  to 
"Rule  Brittannia"  established  his  reputation.  He 
was  engaged  as  composer  to  Drury  Lane  Theater, 
and  in  1759  received  from  Oxford  his  degree  of 
Music  Doctor.  Later  in  life  he  turned  his  attention 
to  oratorios,  and  other  forms  of  sacred  music,  and 
was  the  first  to  introduce  female  voices  in  choir 
singing.  He  died  March  5,  1778,  chanting  hal- 
lelujahs, it  is  said,  with  his  last  bieath. 

"IS  THIS  THE  KIND  RETURN.?" 

Dr.  Watts  in  this  hymn  gave  experimental  piety 
its  hour  and  language  of  reflection  and  penitence: 

Is  this  the  kind  return  ? 

Are  these  the  thanks  we  owe, 
Thus  to  abuse  Eternal  Love 

Whence  all  our  blessings  flow? 

****** 

Let  past  ingratitude 

Provoke  our  weeping  eyes. 

United  in  loving  wedlock  with  these  words  in 
former  years  was  *' Golden  Hill,"  a  chime  of  sweet 
counterpoint  too  rare  to  bury  its  authorship  under 
the  vague  phrase  "A  Western  Melody."  It  was 
caught  evidently  from  a  forest  bird*  that  flutes  its 
clear  solo  in  the  sunsets  of  May  and  June.    There 

♦The  wood  thrush. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN  DEVOTION.  lOQ 

can  be  no  mistaking  the  imitation — the  same  com- 
pass, the  same  upward  thrill,  the  same  fall  and 
warbled  turn.  Old-time  folk  used  to  call  for 
it,  "Sing,  my  Fairweather  Bird."  It  lingers  in  a 
few  of  the  twenty-  or  thirty-years-ago  collections, 
but  stronger  voices  have  drowned  it  out  of  the  new. 
"Thacher,"  (set  to  the  same  hymn,)  faintly  re- 
calls its  melody.  Nevertheless  "Thacher''  is  a 
good  tune.  Though  commonly  written  in  sharps, 
contrasting  the  B  flat  of  its  softer  and  more  liquid 
rival  of  other  days,  it  is  one  of  Handel's  strains, 
and  lends  the  meaning  and  pathos  of  the  lyric  text 
to  voice  and  instrument. 

•^HEN  I  SURVEY  THE  WONDROUS  CROSS." 

This  crown  of  all  the  sacred  odes  of  Dr.  Watts 
for  the  song-service  of  the  church  of  God  was 
called  by  Matthew  Arnold  the  "greatest  hymn  in 
the  English  language."  The  day  the  eminent 
critic  died  he  heard  it  sung  in  the  Sefton  Park 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  repeated  the  opening 
lines  softly  to  himself  again  and  again  after  the 
services.  The  hymn  is  certainly  one  of  the  greatest 
in  the  language.  It  appeared  as  No.  7  in  Watts' 
third  edition  (about  1710)  containing  five  stanzas. 
The  second  line — 

On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 

— read  originally — 

Where  the  young  Prince  of  Glory  died. 


no  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Only  four  stanzas  are  now  generally  used.  The 
omitted  one — 

His  dying  crimson  like  a  robe 

Spreads  o'er  His  body  on  the  tree; 

Then  am  I  dead  to  all  the  globe, 
And  all  the  globe  is  dead  to  me. 

— is  a  flash  of  tragic  imagination,  showing  the 
sanguine  intensity  of  Christian  vision  in  earlier 
time,  when  contemplating  the  Saviour's  passion; 
but  it  is  too  realistic  for  the  spirit  and  genius  of 
song-worship.  That  the  great  hymn  was  designed 
by  the  writer  for  communion  seasons,  and  was 
inspired  by  Gal.  6:14,  explains  the  two  last  lines  if 
not  the  whole  of  the  highly  colored  verse. 

THE   TUNE. 

One  has  a  wide  field  of  choice  in  seeking  the 
best  musical  interpretation  of  this  royal  song  of 
faith  and  self-effacement: 

When  I  survey  the  wondrous  Cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 

My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss. 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride. 

Forbid  it,  Lord,  that  I  should  boast 
Save  in  the  death  of  Christ  my  God; 

All  the  vain  things  that  charm  me  most, 
I  sacrifice  them  to  His  blood. 

See  from  His  head.  His  hands.  His  feet. 
Sorrow  and  love  flow  mingled  down; 

Did  e'er  such  love  and  sorrow  meet; 
Or  thorns  compose  so  rich  a  crown  ? 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DKVOTION.  Ill 

Were  the  whole  realm  of  Nature  mine, 
That  were  a  present  far  too  small; 

Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all. 

To  match  the  height  and  depth  of  these  words 
with  fitting  glory  of  sound  might  well  have  been 
an  ambition  of  devout  composers.  Rev.  G.  C. 
Wells'  tune  in  the  Revivalist,  with  its  emotional 
chorus,  I.  B.  Woodbury's  "Eucharist"  in  the 
Methodist  HymnaU  Henry  Smart's  effective  cho- 
ral in  Barnby's  Hymnary  (No.  170),  and  a  score 
of  others,  have  woven  the  feeling  lines  into  melody 
with  varying  success.  Worshippers  in  spiritual 
sympathy  with  the  words  may  question  if,  after 
all,  old  *' Hamburg,"  the  best  of  Mason's  loved 
Gregorians,  does  not,  alone,  in  tone  and  elocu- 
tion, rise  to  the  level  of  the  hymn. 

"LOVE  DIVINE,  ALL  LOVES  EXCELLING." 

This  evergreen  song-wreath  to  the  Crucified, 
was  contributed  by  Charles  Wesley,  in  1746.  It  is 
found  in  his  collection  of  1756,  Hymns  for  Those 
That  Seek  and  Those  That  Have  Redemption  in 
the  Blood  of  'Jesus  Christ. 

Love  Divine  all  loves  excelling, 

Joy  of  Heaven  to  earth  come  down. 

Fix  in  us  Thy  humble  dwelling. 
All  Thy  faithful  mercies  crown. 
****** 

Come  Almighty  to  deliver. 
Let  us  all  Thy  life  receive, 


112  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Suddenly  return,  and  never, 
Nevermore  Thy  temples  leave. 

****** 

Finish  then  Thy  new  creation; 

Pure  and  spotless  let  us  be; 
Let  us  see  our  whole  salvation 

Perfectly  secured  by  Thee. 

Changed  from  glory  into  glory 
Till  in  Heaven  we  take  our  place, 

Till  we  cast  our  crowns  before  Thee 
Lost  in  wonder,  love  and  praise! 

The  hymn  has  been  set  to  H.  Isaac's  ancient 
tune  (1490),  to  Wyeth's  "Nettleton''  (1810),  to 
Thos.H.  Bailey's  (1777-1839)"  Isle  of  Beauty,  fare 
thee  well"  (named  from  Thomas  Moore's  song), 
to  Edward  Hopkins'  "St.  Joseph,"  and  to  a  multi- 
tude of  others  more  or  less  familiar. 

Most  familiar  of  all  perhaps,  (as  in  the  instance 
of  "Far  from  mortal  cares  retreating,")  is  its 
association  with  "Greenville,"  the  production  of 
that  brilliant  but  erratic  genius  and  freethinker, 
Jean  Jacques  Rousseau.  It  was  originally  a  love 
serenade,  ("Days  of  absence,  sad  and  dreary") 
from  the  opera  of  Le  Devin  du  Village,  written 
about  1752.  The  song  was  commonly  known 
years  afterwards  as  "Rousseau's  Dream."  But 
the  unbelieving  philosopher,  musician,  and  mis- 
guided moralist  builded  better  than  he  knew,  and 
probably  better  than  he  meant  when  he  wrote  his 
immortal  choral.  Whatever  he  heard  in  his 
**dream"  (and  one  legend  says  it  was  a    "song   of 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  II3 

angels*')  he  created  a  harmony  dear  to  the  church 
he  despised,  and  softened  the  hearts  of  the  Chris- 
tian world  towards  an  evil  teacher  who  was  in- 
spired, like  Balaam,  to  utter  one  sacred  strain. 

Rousseau  was  born  in  Geneva,  1712,  but  he 
never  knew  his  mother,  and  neither  the  affection 
or  interest  of  his  father  or  of  his  other  relatives 
was  of  the  quality  to  insure  the  best  bringing  up  of 
a  child. 

He  died  July,  1778.  But  his  song  survives,  while 
the  world  gladly  forgets  everything  else  he  wrote. 
It  is  almost  a  pardonable  exaggeration  to  say  that 
every  child  in  Christendom  knows  "Greenville.' 

'^HEN  ALL  THY  MERCIES,  O  MY  GOD." 

This  charming  hymn  was  written  by  Addison, 
the  celebrated  English  poet  and  essayist,  about 
1 701,  in  grateful  commemoration  of  his  delivery 
from  shipwreck  in  a  storm  off  the  coast  of  Genoa, 
Italy.  It  originally  contained  thirteen  stanzas, 
but  no  more  than  four  or  six  are  commonly  sung. 
It  has  put  the  language  of  devotional  gratitude 
into  the  mouths  of  thousands  of  humble  disciples 
who  could  but  feebly  frame  their  own: 

When  all  Thy  mercies,  O  my  God, 

My  rising  soul  surveys, 
Transported  with  the  view  I'm  lost 

In  wonder,  love  and  praise. 

Unnumbered  comforts  on  my  soul 
Thy  tender  care  bestowed 


114  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Before  my  infant  heart  conceived 
From  whom  those  comforts  flowed. 

When  in  the  shppery  paths  of  youth 

With  heedless  steps  I  ran, 
Thine  arm  unseen  conveyed  me  safe, 

And  led  me  up  to  man. 

Another  hymn  of  Addison — 

How  are  Thy  servants  bless'd,  O  Lord, 

— was  probably  composed  after  the  same  return 
from  a  foreign  voyage.  It  has  been  called  his 
"Traveller's  Hymn." 

Joseph  Addison,  the  best  English  v^riter  of  his 
time,  was  the  son  of  Lancelot  Addison,  rector  of 
Milston,  Wiltshire,  and  afterwards  Dean  of 
Litchfield.  The  distinguished  author  was  born  in 
Milston  Rectory,  May  i,  1672,  and  was  educated 
at  Oxford.  His  excellence  in  poetry,  both  English 
and  Latin,  gave  him  early  reputation,  and  a 
patriotic  ode  obtained  for  him  the  patronage  of 
Lord  Somers.  A  pension  from  King  William  HL 
assured  him  a  comfortable  income,  which  was 
increased  by  further  honors,  for  in  1704  he  was 
appointed  Commissioner  of  Appeals,  then  secretary 
of  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  and  in  171 7 
Secretary  of  State.  He  died  in  Holland  House, 
Kensington,  near  London,  June  17,  1719. 

His  hymns  are  not  numerous,  (said  to  be  only  five) , 
but  they  are  remarkable  for  the  simple  beauty 
of  their  style,  as  well  as  for  their  Christian  spirit. 
Of  his  fine  metrical  version  of  the  23rd  Psalm,— 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  II5 

The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare, 
And  feed  me  with  a  shepherd's  care, 

■ — one  of  his  earliest  productions,  the  tradition  is 
that  he  gathered  its  imagery  when  a  boy  Hving 
at  Netheravon,  near  Salisbury  Plain,  during  his 
lonely  two-mile  walks  to  school  at  Amesbury  and 
back  again.  All  his  hymns  appeared  first  in  the 
Spectator,  to  which  he  was  a  prolific   contributor. 

THE  TUNE. 

The  hymn  "When  all  Thy  mercies"  still  has 
"Geneva"  for  its  vocal  mate  in  some  congrega- 
tional manuals.  The  tune  is  one  of  the  rare 
survivals  of  the  old  "canon"  musical  method,  the 
parts  coming  in  one  after  another  with  identical 
notes.  It  is  always  delightful  as  a  performance 
with  its  glory  of  harmony  and  its  sweet  duet,  and 
for  generations  it  had  no  other  words  than  Addi- 
son's hymn. 

John  Cole,  author  of  "Geneva,"  was  born  in 
Tewksbury,  Eng.,  1774,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  his  boyhood  (1785).  Baltimore,  Md. 
became  his  American  home,  and  he  was  educated 
there.  Early  in  life  he  became  a  musician  and 
music  publisher.  At  least  twelve  of  his  principal 
song  collections  from  1800  to  1832  are  mentioned 
by  Mr.  Hubert  P.  Main,  most  of  them  sacred  and 
containing  many  of  his  own  tunes. 

He  continued  to  compose  music  till  his  death, 
Aug.  17,  1855.     Mr.  Cole  was  leader  of  the  regi- 


Il6         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

mental  band  known  as  "The  Independent  Blues/* 
which  played  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  present 
at  the  "North  Point"  fight,  and  other  battles. 

Besides  "Geneva,"  for  real  feeling  and  har- 
monic beauty  "Manoah,"  adapted  from  Haydn's 
Creation,  deserves  mention  as  admirably  suited 
to  "Addison's"  hymn,  and  also  "Belmont,"  by 
Samuel  Webbe,  which  resembles  it  in  style  and 
sentiment. 

Samuel  Webbe,  composer  of  "Belmont,"  was 
of  English  parentage  but  was  born  in  Minorca, 
Balearic  Islands,  in  1740,  where  his  father  at  that 
time  held  a  government  appointment;  but  his 
father,  dying  suddenly,  left  his  family  poor,  and 
Samuel  w^as  apprenticed  to  a  cabinet-maker.  He 
served  his  apprenticeship,  and  immediately  re- 
paired to  a  London  teacher  and  began  the  study 
of  music  and  languages.  Surmounting  great  diffi- 
culties, he  became  a  competent  musician,  and  made 
himself  popular  as  a  composer  of  glees.  He  was 
also  the  author  of  several  masses,  anthems,  and 
hymn-tunes,  the  best  of  which  are  still  in  occasional 
use.    Died  in  London,  18 16. 

"JESUS,  I  LOVE  THY  CHARMING  NAME." 

When  Dr.  Doddridge,  the  author  of  this  hymn, 
during  his  useful  ministry,  had  finished  the  prep- 
aration of  a  pulpit  discourse  that  strongly  im- 
pressed him,  he  was  accustomed,  while  his  heart 
was  yet  glowing  with  the  sentiment  that  had  in- 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION  II7 

spired  him,  to  put  the  principal  thoughts  into 
metre,  and  use  the  hymn  thus  written  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  preaching  of  the  sermon.  This  hymn 
of  Christian  ardor  was  written  to  be  sung  after  a 
sermon  from  Romans  8:35,  "Who  shall  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?" 

Jesus,  I  love  Thy  charming  name, 

'Tis  music  to  mine  ear: 
Fain  would  I  sound  it  out  so  loud 

That  earth  and  heaven  should  hear. 

****** 

I'll  speak  the  honors  of  Thy  name 

With  my  last  laboring  breath, 
Then  speechless,  clasp  Thee  in  my  arms, 

The  conqueror  of  death. 

Earlier  copies  have — 

The  antidote  of  death. 

Philip  Doddridge,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  London, 
June  26,  1702.  Educated  at  Kingston  Grammar 
School  and  Kibworth  Academy,  he  became  a 
scholar  of  respectable  attainments,  and  was  or- 
dained to  the  Non-conformist  ministry.  He  was 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  North- 
ampton, from  1729  until  his  death,  acting  mean- 
while as  principal  of  the  Theological  School  in 
that  place.  In  1749  he  ceased  to  preach  and  went 
to  Lisbon  for  his  health,  but  died  there  about  two 
years  later,  of  consumption,  Oct.  26,  1752. 


Il8  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

THE    TUNE. 

The  hymn  has  been  sometimes  sung  to  "Pis- 
gah/'  an  old  revival  piece  by  J.  C.  Lov^ry  (1820) 
once  much  heard  in  camp-meetings,  but  it  is  a  pe- 
destrian tune  with  too  many  quavers,  and  a  head- 
long tempo. 

Bradbury's  "Jazer,"  in  three-four  time,  is  a 
melody  with  modulations,  though  more  sympa- 
thetic, but  it  is  hard  to  divorce  the  hymn  from  its 
long-time  consort,  old  "ArHngton."  It  has  the  ac- 
cent of  its  sincerity,  and  the  breath  of  its  devotion. 

"LP,  ON  A  NARROW  NECK  OF  LAND. " 

This  hymn  of  Charles  Wesley  is  always  desig- 
nated now  by  the  above  line,  the  first  of  the  second 
stanza  as  originally  written.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
composed  at  Land's  End,  in  Cornwall,  with  the 
British  Channel  and  the  broad  Atlantic  in  view 
and  surging  on  both  sides  around  a  *' narrow  neck 
of  land/' 

Lol  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 
*Twixt  two  unbounded  seas,  I  stand, 

Secure,  insensible: 
A  point  of  time,  a  moment's  space. 
Removes  me  to  that  heavenly  place, 

Or  shuts  me  up  in  hell. 

O  God,  mine  inmost  soul  convert. 
And  deeply  on  my  thoughtful  heart 

Eternal  things  impress: 
Give  me  to  feel  their  solemn  weight, 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  IIQ 

And  tremble  on  the  brink  of  fate, 
And  wake  to  righteousness. 

The  preachers  and  poets  of  the  great  spiritual 
movement  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  England 
abated  nothing  in  the  candor  of  their  words.  The 
terrible  earnestness  of  conviction  tipped  their 
tongues  and  pens  vs^ith  fire. 

THE  TUNE. 

Lady  Huntingdon  would  have  lent  "Meribah" 
gladly  to  this  hymn,  but  Mason  was  not  yet  born. 
Many  times  it  has  been  borrowed  for  Wesley's 
words  since  it  came  to  its  own,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
pious  Countess  has  doubtless  approved  the  loan.  It 
is  rich  enough  to  furnish  forth  her  own  lyric  and 
more  than  one  other  of  like  matter  and  metre. 

The  muscular  music  of  "  Ganges  "  has  sometimes 
carried  the  hymn,  and  there  are  those  who  think  its 
thunder  is  not  a  whit  more  Hebraic  than  the  words 
require. 

"COME  YE  SINNERS  POOR  AND  NEEDY. " 

Few  hymns  have  been  more  frequently  sung  in 
prayer-meetings  and  religious  assemblies  during  the 
last  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Its  author,  Joseph 
Hart,  spoke  what  he  knew  and  testified  what  he 
felt.  Born  in  London,  1 7 1 2,  and  liberally  educated, 
he  was  in  his  young  manhood  very  religious,  but  he 
went  so  far  astray  as  to  indulge  in  evil  practices,  and 


120  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

even  published  writings,  both  original  and  trans- 
lated, against  Christianity  and  religion  of  any  kind. 
But  he  could  not  drink  at  the  Dead  Sea  and  live. 
The  apples  of  Sodom  sickened  him.  Conscience 
asserted  itself,  and  the  pangs  of  remorse  nearly 
drove  him  to  despair  till  he  turned  back  to  the 
source  he  had  forsaken.  He  alludes  to  this  expe- 
rience in  the  lines — 

Let  not  conscience  make  you  linger, 

Nor  of  fitness  fondly  dream; 
All  the  fitness  He  requireth 

Is  to  feel  your  need  of  Him. 

During  Passion  Week,  1767,  he  had  an  amazing 
view  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  under  the  stress  of 
which  his  heart  was  changed.  In  the  joy  of  this  ex- 
perience he  wrote — 

Come  ye  sinners  poor  and  needy, 
— and — 

Come  all  ye  chosen  saints  of  God. 

Probably  no  two  hymn-lines  have  been  oftener 
repeated  than — 

If  you  tarry  till  you're  better 
You  will  never  come  at  all. 

The  complete  form  of  the  original  stanzas  is: 

Come  ye  sinners  poor  and  needy, 
Weak  and  wounded,  sick  and  sore; 

Jesus  ready  stands  to  save  you, 
Full  of  pity,  love  and  power. 

He  is  able. 
He  is  wiHing;   doubt  no  more. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  121 

The  whole  hymn — ten  stanzas — is  not  sung 
now  as  one,  but  two,  the  second  division  begin- 
ning with  the  Hne — 

Come  ye  weary,  heavy  laden. 

Rev.  Joseph  Hart  became  minister  of  Jewin  St. 
Congregational  Chapel,  London,  about  1760, 
where  he  labored  till  his  death,  May  24,  1768. 

THE  TUNE. 

A  revival  song  by  Jeremiah  Ingalls  (i 764-1828), 
written  about  1804,  with  an  easy,  popular  swing 
and  a  sforzando  chorus — 

Turn  to  the  Lord  and  seek  salvation, 

— monopolized  this  hymn  for  a  good  many  years. 
The  tunes  commonly  assigned  to  it  have  since  been 
"  Greenville  "  and  Von  Weber's  "  Wilmot, "  in  which 
last  it  is  now  more  generally  sung — dropping  the 
echo  lines  at  the  end  of  each  stanza. 

Carl  Maria  Von  Weber,  son  of  a  roving  musician, 
was  born  in  Eutin,  Germany,  1786.  He  developed 
no  remarkable  genius  till  he  was  about  twenty 
years  old,  though  being  a  fine  vocalist,  his  singing 
brought  him  popularity  and  gain;  but  in  1806  he 
nearly  lost  his  voice  by  accidently  drinking  nitric 
acid.  He  was  for  several  years  private  secretary  to 
Duke  Ludwig  at  Stuttgart,  and  in  18 13  Chapel- 
Master  at  Prague,  from  which  place  he  went  to 
Dresden  in  18 17  as  Musik-Director. 

Von  Weber's  Korner  songs  won  the  hearts  of  all 
Germany,   and   his   immortal   "Der    Freischutz" 


122  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

(the  Free  Archer),  and  numerous  tender  melodies 
like  the  airs  to  "John  Anderson,  my  Jo"  and  "O 
PoortithCauld"  have  gone  to  all  civilized  nations.  No 
other  composer  had  suchfeelingfor  beauty  of  sound. 
This  beloved  musician  was  physically  frail  and 
delicate,  and  died  of  untimely  decline,  during  a 
visit  to  London  in  1826. 

"O  HAPPY  SAINTS  WHO  DWELL  IN  LIGHT. " 

Sometimes  printed  "O  happy  souls /^  This  poet- 
ical and  flowing  hymn  seems  to  have  been  for- 
gotten in  the  making  up  of  most  modern  church 
hymnals.  Hymns  on  heaven  and  heavenly  joys 
abound  in  embarrassing  numbers,  but  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  understand  why  this  beautiful  lyric  should 
be  universally  neglected.  It  was  written  probably 
about  1760,  by  Rev.  John  Berridge,  from  the  text, 
"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord. " 

The  first  line  of  the  second  stanza — 

Released  from  sorrow,  toll  and  strife, 

— has  been  tinkered  in  some  of  the  older  hymn- 
books,  where  it  is  found  to  read — , 

Released  from  sorrow,  toil  and  griefs 

— not  only  committing  a  tautology,  but  destroying 
the  perfect  rhyme  with  *'  life  "  in  the  next  line.  The 
whole  hymn,  too,  has  been  much  altered  by  substi- 
tuted words  and  shifted  lines,  though  not  gen- 
erally to  the  serious  detriment  of  its  meaning  and 
music. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I23 

The  Rev.  John  Berridge — friend  of  the  Wesleys, 
Whitefield,  and  Lady  Huntingdon — w^as  an  ec- 
centric but  very  worthy  and  spiritual  minister,  born 
the  son  of  a  farmer,  in  Kingston,  Nottinghamshire, 
Eng.,Mar.  I,  1716.  He  studied  at  Cambridge,  and 
v^as  ordained  curate  of  Stapleford  and  subse- 
quently located  as  vicar  of  Everton,  1775.  He  died 
Jan.  22,  1793.  He  loved  to  preach,  and  he  v^as  de- 
termined that  his  tombstone  should  preach  after 
his  voice  was  still.  His  epitaph,  composed  by  him- 
self, is  both  a  testimony  and  a  memoir: 

"Here  lie  the  earthly  remains  of  John  Berridge,  late  vicar  of 
Everton,  and  an  itinerant  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  loved 
his  Master  and  His  work,  and  after  running  His  errands 
many  years,  was  called  up  to  wait  on  Kim  above. 

"Reader,  art  thou  born  again  ? 

"No  salvation  without  the  new  birth. 

"I  was  born  in  sin,  February,  17  i6. 

"Remained  ignorant  of  my  fallen  state  till  1730. 

"Lived  proudly  on  faith  and  works  for  salvation  till  175  i. 

"Admitted  to  Everton  vicarage,  1755. 

"Fled  to  Jesus  alone  for  refuge,  1756. 

"Fell  asleep  in  Jesus  Christ, — "  (1793.) 

THE    TUNE. 

The  once  popular  score  that  easily  made  the 
hymn  a  favorite,  was  "Salem,''  in  the  old  Psal- 
modist.  It  still  appears  in  some  note-books,  though 
the  name  of  its  composer  is  uncertain.  Its  notes 
(in  6-8  time)  succeed  each  other  in  syllabic  mod- 
ulations that  give  a  soft  dactylic  accent  to  the  meas- 
ure and  a  wavy  current  to  the  lines: 


124  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

O  happy  saints  that  dwell  in  light, 
And  walk  with  Jesus  clothed  in  white, 
Safe  landed  on  that  peaceful  shore, 
Where  pilgrims  meet  to  part  no  more: 

Released  from  sorrow,  toil  and  strife, 
Death  was  the  gate  to  endless  life. 
And  now  they  range  the  heavenly  plains 
And  sing  His  love  in  melting  strains. 

Another  version   reads: 

and  welcome  to  an  endless  life. 

Their  souls  have  now  begun  to  prove 
The  height  and  depth  of  Jesus'  love. 

' THOU  DEAR  REDEEMER,  DYING  LAMB. " 

The  author,  John  Cennick,  like  Joseph  Hart, 
was  led  to  Christ  after  a  reckless  boyhood  and 
youth,  by  the  work  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  his  soul, 
independent  of  any  direct  outward  influence. 
Sickened  of  his  cards,  novels,  and  playhouse 
pleasures,  he  had  begun  a  sort  of  mechanical 
reform,  when  one  day,  walking  in  the  streets  of 
London,  he  suddenly  seemed  to  hear  the  text 
spoken  "I  am  thy  salvation!"  His  consecration 
began  at  that  moment. 

He  studied  for  the  ministry,  and  became  a 
preacher,  first  under  direction  of  the  Wesleys, 
then  under  Whitefield,  but  afterwards  joined  the 
Moravians,  or  "  Brethren."  He  was  born  at  Read- 
ing, Derbyshire,  Eng.,  Dec.  12,  1718,  and  died  in 
London,  July  4,  1755. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN  DEVOTION.  I25 

THE    TUNE. 

The  word  "Rhine"  (in  some  collections — in 
others  "Emmons")  names  a  revival  tune  once  so 
linked  with  this  hymn  and  so  well  known  that  few 
religious  people  now  past  middle  life  could  enjoy 
singing  it  to  any  other.  With  a  compass  one  note 
beyond  an  octave  and  a  third,  it  utters  every  line 
with  a  clear,  bold  gladness  sure  to  infect  a  meeting 
with  its  own  spiritual  fervor. 

Thou  dear  Redeemer,  dying  Lamb, 

I  love  to  hear  of  Thee; 
No  music  like  Thy  charming  name, 

Nor  half  so  sweet  can  be. 

The  composer  of  the  bright  legato  melody  just 
described  was  Frederick  Burgmiiller,  a  young 
German  musician,  born  in  1804.  He  was  a  remark- 
able genius,  both  in  composition  and  execution, 
but  his  health  was  frail,  and  he  did  not  live  to 
fulfil  the  rich  possibilities  that  lay  within  him.  He 
died  in  1824 — o^ily  twenty  years  old.  The  tune 
"Rhine"  ("Emmons")  is  from  one  of  his  marches. 

"WHILE  THEE  I  SEEK,  PROTECTING  POWER." 

Helen  Maria  Williams  wrote  this  sweet  hymn, 
probably  about  the  year  1800.  She  was  a  bril- 
liant woman,  better  known  in  literary  society  for 
her  political  verses  and  essays  than  by  her  hymns; 
but  the  hymn  here  noted  bears  sufficient  wit- 
ness to  her  deep  religious  feeling: 


126  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

While  Thee  I  seek,  Protecting  Power, 

Be  my  vain  wishes  stilled, 
And  may  this  consecrated  hour 

With  better  hopes  be  filled. 
Thy  love  the  power  of  thought  bestowed; 

To  Thee  my  thoughts  would  soar, 
Thy  mercy  o'er  my  life  has  flowed. 

That  mercy  I  adore. 

Miss  Williams  was  born  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land, Nov.  30,  1762,  but  spent  much  of  her  life  in 
London,  and  in  Paris,  where  she  died,  Dec.  14, 1827. 

THE    TUNE. 

Wedded  so  many  years  to  the  gentle,  flowing 
music  of  Pleyel's  *' Brattle  Street,"  few  lovers  of 
the  hymn  recall  its  words  without  the  melody  of 
that  emotional  choral. 

The  plain  psalm-tune,  ''Simpson,"  by  Louis 
Spohr,  divides  the  stanzas  into  quatrains. 

* 7ESUS  MY  ALL  TO  HEAVEN  IS  GONE." 

This  hymn,  by  Cennick,  was  familiarized  to  the 
public  more  than  two  generations  ago  by  its  re- 
vival tune,  sometimes  called  "Duane  Street,"  long- 
meter  double.  It  is  staffed  in  various  keys,  but 
its  movement  is  full  of  life  and  emphasis,  and  its 
melody  is  contagious.  The  piece  was  composed 
by  Rev.  George  Coles,  in   1835. 

The  fact  that  this  hymn  of  Cennick  with  Coles's 
tune  appears  in  the  ISfew  Methodist  Hymnal 
indicates  the  survival  of  both  in  modern  favor. 


4i"33k 

fn^A 

^f^s'^C^i'i                 ^^             ^^Sr 

'^'   ""^Wfe    ^^  J 

t«^B,^4 

,  2>^^^^np^ii^F<^^^Bs^ 

.  '.^Hs^^^H^  !    v^ls^s^ 

^s" 

<-  ,  jil^^^lH^^^Hi^B^HNa^             ^  yWPSIW 

im~ 

/  .^^^^^^I^H^KnaBIHBBtim   %        ^^x^mln'IM 

K^ 

^PH^^^^^^k  \  4^^ 

^k 

I^^Pf^'^^^ 

|P 

Augustus 

Montague 

Toplady 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  12/ 

Jesus  my  all  to  heaven  is  gone, 
He  whom  I  fixed  my  hopes  upon; 
His  track  I  see,  and  I'll  pursue 
The  narrow  way  till  Him  I  view. 
The  way  the  holy  prophets  went, 
The  road  that  leads  from  banishment, 
The  King's  highway  of  holiness 
I'll  go  for  all  Thy  paths  are  peace. 

The  memory  has  not  passed  away  of  the  hearty 
unison  with  which  prayer-meeting  and  camp- 
meeting  assembhes  used  to  "crescendo"  the  last 
stanza — 

Then  will  I  tell  to  sinners  round 
What  a  dear  Saviour  I  have  found; 
I'll  point  to  His  redeeming  blood. 
And  say  **  Behold  the  way  to  God.'* 

The  Rev.  George  Coles  was  born  in  Stewkley, 
Eng.,  Jan.  2,  1792,  and  died  in  New  York  City, 
May  I,  1858.  He  was  editor  of  the  A^.  T.  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  and  Sunday  School  Advocate,  for 
several  years,  and  was  a  musician  of  some  ability, 
besides  being  a  good  singer. 

"SWEET  THE  MOMENTS,  RICH  IN  BLESSING. " 

The  Hon.  and  Rev.  Walter  Shirley,  Rector  of 
Loughgfee,  county  of  Galway,  Ireland,  revised  this  ^tt-jhrli^ 
hymn  u«<leF  the  chastening  discipline  of  a  most 
tiying  experience.  His  brother,  tJ*e  Earl  <rf 
Ferrlrs,  a  licentious  man,  murdered  an  old  and 
faithful  servant  in  a  fit  of  rage,  and  was  executed 
at  Tyburn  for  the  crime.     Si^  Walter,  after  the 


,'-'1 


128  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

disgrace  and  long  distress  oF  the  imprisonment, 
trial,  and  final  tragedy,  returned  to  his  little  parish 
in  Ireland,  humbled  but  driven  nearer  to  the  Cross. 

Sweet  the  moments,  rfch  in  blessing 
Which  before  the  Cross  I  spend; 

Life  and  health  and  peace  possessing 
From  the  sinner's  dying  Fri^d. 

to  V  L*  ^         All  the  emotion  of  one  who  buries\a  mortifying 

sorrow  in  the  heart  of  Christ,  and  triess^o  forget, 

''      V  ^^'  trembles  in  the  lines  of  the  above  hym^K^s  he 

changed  and  adapted  it  in  his  maddest  but  devoutest 
hours.2  Its  original  writer  was  the  Rev.  James 
Allen,  neai:^-twemy  years  younger  than  himself, 
^     '  a  man  of  culture  and  piety,  but  a  Christian  of 

?^  ^^  shifting  creeds.     It  is  not  impossible  that  he  sent 

his  hymn  to  Shirley  to  revise.  At  all  events  it  owes 
its  present  form  to  Shirley's  hand.  ^. 

Truly  blessed  is  tiw  station       i  rt^  ^ 
Low  before  His  cross  to  lie, 

?.'•  While  I  see  Divine  Compassion        a  ^ 

L/Uw.^  --v!i  Y     Seaming  in  His  gracious  eye.*    '  •'<'^jut^ 

The  influence  of  Sir  Walter's  family  misfortune 
is  evident  also  in  the  mood  out  of  which  breathed 
his  other  trustful  lines — 

Peace,  troubled  soul,  whose  plaintive  moan 
Hath  taught  these  rocks  the  note!  of  woe, 

(changed  now  to  "hath  taught  these  scenes,''  etc). 

(8m  Walter  Shirley,  cousin  of  the  Countess  of 

Huntingdon,  was  born    1725,  and   died  in    1786. 

=*^'Floatmg  in  His  languid  eye^'*  awtrng  ^ahxvc  beea  the  earlier  version. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I29 

Even  in  his  last  sickness  he  continued  to  preach  to 
his  people  in  his  house,  seated  in  his  chair. 

Rev.  James  Oswald  Allen  was  born  at  Gayle,  .  .    _    , 

Yorkshire,    Eng.,    June    24,    L743.      He    left    the  '  ^  ^ 

University  of  Cambridge  after  a  year's  study,  and 
became  an  itinerant  preacher,  but  seems  to  have 
been  a  man  of  unstable  religious  views.  After 
roving  from  one  Christian  denomination  to  another 
several  times,  he  built  a  Chapel,  and  for  forty 
years  ministered  there  to  a  small  Independent 
congregation.    He  died  in  Gayle,  Oct.  31, 1804. 

The  tune  long  and  happily  associated  with 
"Sweet  the  Moments"  is  "Sicily,"  or  the  "Sicilian 
H^im«" — from  an  old  Latin  hymn-tune,  "O 
Sanctissima." 

"O  FOR  A  CLOSER  WALK  WITH  GOD." 


The  author,  William  Cowper,  son  of  a  clergy- 
man, was  born  at  Berkhampstead,  Hertfordshire, 
Eng.,  Nov.  15,  1 73 1,  and  died  at  Dereham, 
Norfolk,  April  25,  1800.  Through  much  of  his 
adult  life  he  was  afflicted  with  a  mental  ailment 
inducing  melancholia  and  at  times  partial  insanity, 
during  which  he  once  attempted  suicide.  He 
sought  literary  occupation  as  an  antidote  to  his 
disorder  of  mind,  and  besides  a  great  number  of 
lighter  pieces  which  diverted  him  and  his  friends, 
composed  "The  Task,"  an  able  and  delightful 
moral  and  domestic  poetic  treatise  in  blank  verse, 
and  in  the  same  style  of  verse  translated  Homer's 
Odyssey  and  Iliad. 


130  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

One  of  the  most  beloved  of  English  poets,  this 
suffering  man  was  also  a  true  Christian,  and  wrote 
some  of  our  sweetest  and  most  spiritual  hymn^. 
Most  of  these  were  composed  at  Olney,  where  he 
resided  for  a  time  with  John  Newton,  his  fellow 
hymnist,  and  jointly  with  him  issued  the  volume 
known  as  the  Olney  Hymns. 

THE    TUNE, 

Music  more  or  less  closely  identified  with  this 
famihar  hymn  is  Gardiner's  "  Dedham,"  and  also 
"Mear,''  often  attributed  to  Aaron  Williams.  Both, 
about  equally  with  the  hymn,  are  seasoned  by  time, 
but  have  not  worn  out  their  harmony — or  their 
fitness  to  Cowper's  prayer. 

William  Gardiner  was  born  in  Leicester,  Eng., 
March  15,  1770,  and  died  there  Nov.  11,  1853. 
He  was  a  vocal  composer  and  a  "musicographer*' 
or  writer  on  musical  subjects. 

One  Aaron  Williams,  to  whom  "Mear"  has  by 
some  been  credited,  was  of  Welsh  descent,  a  com- 
poser of  psalmody  and  clerk  of  the  Scotch  church 
in  London.  He  was  born  in  1734,  and  died  in 
1776.  Another  account,  and  the  more  probable 
one,  names  a  minister  of  Boston  of  still  earher 
date  as  the  author  of  the  noble  old  harmony.  It 
is  found  in  a  small  New  England  collection  of 
1726,  but  not  in  any  English  or  Scotch  collection. 
"Mear'*  is  presumably  an  American  tune. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I3I 

"WHAT  VARIOUS  HINDRANCES  WE  MEET." 

Another  hymn  of  Cowper's;  and  no  one  ever 
suffered  more  deeply  the  plaintive  regret  in  the 
opening  lines,  or  better  wrought  into  poetic  ex- 
pression an  argument  for  prayer. 

What  various  hindrances  we  meet 

In  coming  to  a  mercy-seat! 

Yet  who  that  knows  the  worth  of  prayer 

But  wishes  to  be  often  there  ? 

Prayer  makes  the  darkest  clouds  withdraw, 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw. 

The  whole  hymn  is  (or  once  was)  so  thoroughly 
learned  by  heart  as  to  be  fixed  in  the  church  among 
its  household  words.  Preachers  to  the  diffident 
do  not  forget  to  quote — 

Have  you  no  words  ?  ah,  think  again; 
Words  flow  apace  when  you  complain. 

4:     *     >N     4:     4c     4: 

Were  half  the  breath  thus  vainly  spent 
To  Heaven  in  supplication  sent. 
Our  cheerful  song  would  oftener  be, 
"Hear  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for  met" 

And  there  is  all  the  lifetime  of  a  proverb  in  the 
conplet — 

Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees. 

Tune,  Lowell  Mason's  "Rockingham." 


132  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"MY  GRACIOUS   REDEEMER   I   LOVE." 

This  Is  one  of  Benjamin  Francis's  lays  of  de- 
votion. The  Christian  Welshman  who  bore  that 
name  was  a  Gospel  minister  full  of  Evangelical 
zeal,  who  preached  in  many  places,  though  his 
pastoral  home  was  with  the  Baptist  church  in 
Shortwood,  Wales.  Flattering  calls  to  London 
could  not  tempt  him  away  from  his  first  and  only 
parish,  and  he  remained  there  till  his  triumphant 
death.    He  was  born  in  1734,  and  died  in  1799. 

My  gracious  Redeemer  I  love, 

His  praises  aloud  I'll  proclaim, 
And  join  with  the  armies  above. 

To  shout  His  adorable  name. 
To  gaze  on  His  glories  divine 

Shall  be  my  eternal  employ; 
To  see  them  incessantly  shine, 

My  boundless,  ineffable  joyo 

Tune,  "Birmingham" — an  English  melody. 
Anonymous. 

"BLEST  BE  THE  TIE  THAT  BINDS." 


Perhaps  the  best  hymn-expression  of  sacred 
brotherhood,  at  least  it  has  had,  and  still  has  the 
indorsement  of  constant  use.  The  author,  John 
Fawcett,  D.D.,  is  always  quoted  as  the  example 
of  his  own  words,  since  he  sacrificed  ambition 
and  personal  interest  to  Christian  affection. 

Born  near  Bradford,  Yorkshire,  Jan.  6,  1739, 
and  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Whitefield, 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I33 

he  joined  the  Methodists,  but  afterwards  became 
a  member  of  the  new  Baptist  church  in  Bradford. 
Seven  years  later  he  was  ordained  over  the  Baptist 
Society  at  Wainsgate.  In  1772  he  received  a  call 
to  succeed  the  celebrated  Dr.  Gill,  in  London,  and 
accepted.  But  at  the  last  moment,  when  his 
goods  were  packed  for  removal,  the  clinging  love 
of  his  people,  weeping  their  farewells  around  him, 
melted  his  heart.  Their  passionate  regrets  were 
more  than  either  he  or  his  good  wife  could  with- 
stand. 

"I  will  stay,*'  he  said;  "you  may  unpack  my 
goods,  and  we  will  live  for  the  Lord  lovingly 
together." 

It  was  out  of  this  heart  experience  that  the 
tender  hymn  was  born. 

Our  fears,  our  hopes,  our  aims  are  one, 
Our  comforts  and  our  cares. 

Dr.  Fawcett  died  July  25,  18 17. 
Tune,   "Boylston/'    L.  Mason;   or   "Dennis," 
H.  G.  NageH. 

''I  LOVE  THY  KINGDOM,  LORD." 

"Dr.  Dwight's  Hymn,"  as  this  is  known  par 
eminence  among  many  others  from  his  pen,  is 
one  of  the  imperishable  lyrics  of  the  Christian 
Church.  The  real  spirit  of  the  hundred  and 
twenty-second  Psalm  is  in  it,  and  it  is  worthy  of 
Watts  in  his  best  moments. 


134  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Timothy  Dwight  was  born  at  Northampton, 
Mass,  May  14,  1752,  and  graduated  at  Yale 
College  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  He  wrote  several 
religious  poems  of  considerable  length.  In  1795 
he  was  elected  President  of  Yale  College,  and  in 
1800  he  revised  Watts'  Psalms,  at  the  request  of  the 
General  Association  of  Connecticut,  adding  a  num- 
ber of  translations  of  his  own. 

I  love  Thy  kingdom,  Lord, 

The  house  of  Thine  abode, 
The  Church  our  blest  Redeemer  saved 

With  His  own  precious  blood. 

I  love  Thy  Church,  O  God; 

Her  walls  before  Thee  stand, 
Dear  as  the  apple  of  Thine  eye. 

And  graven  on  Thy  hand. 

Dr.  Dwight  died  Jan.  11,  1817. 

Tune,  "St.  Thomas,"  Aaron  Williams,  (1734- 

1776.) 

Mr.  Hubert  P.  Main,  however,  believes  the 
author  to  be  Handel.  It  appeared  as  the  second 
movement  of  a  four-movement  tune  in  Williams's 
1762  collection,  which  contained  pieces  by  the 
great  masters,  with  his  own;  but  while  not  credited 
to  Handel,  Williams  did  not  claim  it  himself. 

"MID  SCENES  OF  CONFUSION." 


This  hymn,  common  in  chapel  hymnbooks 
half  a  century  and  more  ago,  is  said  to  have  been 
written  by  the  Rev.  David  Denham,  about  1826. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I35 

THE  TUNE. 

"Home,  Sweet  Home"  was  composed,  accord- 
ing to  the  old  account,  by  John  Howard  Payne  as 
one  of  the  airs  in  his  opera  of  *'Clari,  the  Maid  of 
Milan,"  which  was  brought  out  in  London  at 
Drury  Lane  in  1823.  But  Charles  Mackay,  the 
English  poet,  in  the  London  Telegraph,  asserts 
that  Sir  Henry  Bishop,  an  eminent  musician,  in 
his  vain  search  for  a  Sicilian  national  air,  invented 
one,  and  that  it  was  the  melody  of  "Home,  sweet 
Home,"  which  he  afterwards  set  to  Howard  Payne's 
words.  Mr.  Mackay  had  this  story  from  Sir 
Henry    himself. 

Mid  scenes  of  confusion  and  creature  complaints 
How  sweet  to  my  soul  is  communion  with  saints, 
To  find  at  the  banquet  of  mercy  there's  room 
And  feel  in  the  presence  of  Jesus  at  home. 

Home,  home,  sweet,  sweet  home! 
Prepare  me,  dear  Savior  for  glory,  my  home. 

John  Howard  Payne,  author  at  least,  of  the 
original  words  of  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  was  born 
in  New  York  City  June  9,  1791.  He  was  a  singer, 
and  became  an  actor  and  theatrical  writer.  He  com- 
posed the  words  of  his  immortal  song  in  the  year 
1823,  when  he  was  himself  homeless  and  hungry 
and  sheltered  temporarily  in  an  attic  in  Paris. 

His  fortunes  improved  at  last,  and  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  represent  his  native  country  as  consul 
in  Tunis,  where  he  died,  Apr.  9,  1852. 


136         STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"O,  COULD  I  SPEAK  THE   MATCHLESS  WORTH. 

The  writer  of  this  hymn  of  worshiping  ardor 
and  exalted  Christian  love  was  an  English  Baptist 
minister,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Medley.  He  was  born 
at  Cheshunt,  Hertfordshire,  June  23,  1738,  and  at 
eighteen  years  of  age  entered  the  Royal  Navy, 
where,  though  he  had  been  piously  educated,  he 
became  dissipated  and  morally  reckless.  Wounded 
in  a  sea  fight  off  Cape  Lagos,  and  in  dread  of  am- 
putation he  prayed  penitently  through  nearly  a 
whole  night,  and  in  the  morning  the  surprised 
surgeon  told  him  his  limb  could  be  saved. 

The  voice  of  his  awakened  conscience  was  not 
wholly  disregarded,  though  it  was  not  till  some 
time  after  he  left  the  navy  that  his  vow  to  begin  a 
religious  life  was  sincerely  kept.  After  teaching 
school  for  four  years,  he  began  to  preach  in  1766, 
Wartford  in  Hertfordshire  being  the  first  scene  of 
his  godly  labors.  He  died  in  Liverpool  July  17, 
1799,  at  the  end  of  a  faithful  ministry  there  of 
twenty-seven  years.  A  small  edition  of  his  hymns 
was  published  during  his  lifetime,  in  1789. 

O  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth, 
O  could  I  sound  the  glories  forth 

Which  in  my  Saviour  shine, 
I'd  soar  and  touch  the  heavenly  strings 
And  vie  with  Gabriel  while  he  sings, 

In  notes  almost  divine  1 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I37 

THE    TUNE. 

"Colebrook,"  a  plain  choral;  but  with  a  noble 
movement,  by  Henry  Smart,  is  the  English  music 
to  this  fine  lyric,  but  Dr.  Mason's  "Ariel"  is  the 
American  favorite.  It  justifies  its  name,  for  it  has 
wings — in  both  full  harmony  and  duet — and  its 
melody  feels  the  glory  of  the  hymn  at  every  bar. 

"ROCK  OF  AGES  CLEFT  FOR  ME." 


Augustus  Montagu  Toplady,  author  of  this 
almost  universal  hymn,  was  born  at  Farnham, 
Surrey,  Eng.,  Nov.  4,  1740.  Educated  at  West- 
minister School,  and  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  he 
took  orders  in  the  Established  Church.  In  his 
doctrinal  debates  with  the  Wesleys  he  was  a  harsh 
controversialist;  but  his  piety  was  sincere,  and 
marked  late  in  life  by  exalted  moods.  Physically 
he  was  frail,  and  his  fiery  zeal  wore  out  his  body. 
Transferred  from  his  vicarage  at  Broad  Hem- 
bury,  Devonshire,  to  Knightsbridge,  London,  at 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  his  health  began  to 
fail  before  he  was  thirty-five,  and  in  one  of  his 
periods  of  illness  he  wrote — 

When  languor  and  disease  invade 

This  trembling  house  of  clay, 
'Tis  sweet  to  look  beyond  my  pains 

And  long  to  fly  away. 

And  the   same  homesickness  for  heaven   appears 
under  a  different  figure  in  another  hymn — 


138  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

At  anchor  laid  remote  from  home, 
Toiling  I  cry,  "Sweet  Spirit,  come! 
Celestial  breeze,  no  longer  stay. 
But  swell  my  sails,  and  speed  my  way  I" 

Possessed  of  an  ardent  religious  nature,  his 
spiritual  frames  exemplified  in  a  notable  degree 
the  emotional  side  of  Calvinistic  piety.  Edward 
Payson  himself,  was  not  more  enraptured  in 
immediate  view  of  death  than  was  this  young 
London  priest  and  poet.  Unquestioning  faith 
became  perfect  certainty.  As  in  the  bold  metaphor 
of  **Rock  of  Ages,"  the  faith  finds  voice  in — 

A  debtor  to  mercy  alone, 

— and  other  hymns  in  his  collection  of  1776,  two 
years  before  the  end  came.  Most  of  this  devout 
writing  was  done  in  his  last  days,  and  he  con- 
tinued it  as  long  as  strength  was  left,  until,  on  the 
nth  of  August,  1778,  he  joyfully  passed  away. 

Somehow  there  was  always  something  peculiarly 
heartsome  and  ''filling"  to  pious  minds  in  the 
lines  of  Toplady  in  days  when  his  minor  hymns 
were  more  in  vogue  than  now,  and  they  were  often 
quoted,  without  any  idea  whose  making  they  were. 
"At  anchor  laid"  was  crooned  by  good  old  ladies 
at  their  spinning-wheels,  and  godly  invalids  found 
"When  languor  and  disease  invade"  a  comfort 
next  to  their  Bibles. 

"Rock  of  Ages"  is  said  to  have  been  written 
after  the  author,  during  a  suburban  walk,  had 
been    forced   to   shelter   himself  from    a   thunder 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I39 

shower,  under  a  clifF.  This  is,  however,  but  one  of 
several  stories  about  the  birth-occasion  of  the 
hymn. 

It  has  been  translated  into  many  languages. 
One  of  the  foreign  dignitaries  visiting  Queen 
Victoria  at  her  "Golden  Jubilee''  was  a  native  of 
Madagascar,  who  surprised  her  by  asking  leave 
to  sing,  but  delighted  her,  when  leave  was  given, 
by  singing  "Rock  of  Ages."  It  was  a  favorite  of 
hers — and  of  Prince  Albert,  who  whispered  it 
when  he  was  dying.  People  who  were  school- 
children when  Rev.  Justus  Vinton  came  home  to 
Willington,  Ct.,  with  two  Karen  pupils,  repeat  to- 
day the  "la-pa-ta,  i-oo-i-oo"  caught  by  sound 
from  the  brown-faced  boys  as  they  sang  their 
native  version  of  "Rock  of  Ages." 

Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  the  famous  Confederate 
Cavalry  leader,  mortally  wounded  at  Yellow 
Tavern,  Va.,  and  borne  to  a  Richmond  hospital, 
called  for  his  minister  and  requested  that  "Rock 
of  Ages"  be  sung  to  him. 

The  last  sounds  heard  by  the  few  saved  from 
the  wreck  of  the  steamer  "London"  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  1866,  were  the  voices  of  the  helpless  pas- 
sengers singing  "Rock  of  Ages"  as  the  ship  went 
down. 

A  company  of  Armenian  Christians  sang  "Rock 
of  Ages"  in  their  native  tongue  while  they  were 
being  massacred  in  Constantinople. 

No  history  of  this  grand  hymn  of  faith  forgets 
the  incident  of  Gladstone  writing  a  Latin  trans- 


140         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

lation  of  it  while  sitting  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
That    remarkable    man   was    as    masterly    in    his 
scholarly    recreations    as    in    his    statesmanship. 
The  supreme  Christian  sentiment   of  the   hymn       ■ 
had  permeated  his  soul  till  it  spoke  to  him  in  a       I 
dead  language  as  eloquently  as  in  the  living  one;        ■ 
and  this  is  what  he  made  of  it: 

rOPLADT, 

Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 

Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee; 

Let  the  water  and  the  blood. 

From  Thy  riven  side  which  flowed. 

Be  of  sin  the  double  cure, 

Cleanse  me  from  its  guilt  and  power. 

Not  the  labor  of  my  hands 
Can  fulfil  Thy  law's  demands; 
Could  my  zeal  no  respite  know, 
Could  my  tears  for  ever  flow, 
All  for  sin  could  not  atone, 
Thou  must  save,  and  Thou  alone. 

Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring. 
Simply  to  Thy  cross  I  cling; 
Naked,  come  to  Thee  for  dress. 
Helpless,  look  to  Thee  for  grace: 
Foul,  I  to  the  fountain  fly; 
Wash,  me,  Saviour,  or  I  die. 

Whilst  I  draw  this  fleeting  breath, 
When  my  eyestrings  break  in  death; 
When  I  soar  through  tracts  unknown, 
See  Thee  on  Thy  judgment  throne. 
Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I4I 

GLADSTONE. 

Jesus,  pro  me  perforatus, 
Condar  intra  tuum  latus; 
Tu  per  lympham  profluentem, 
Tu  per  sanguinem  tepentem, 
In  peccata  mi  redunda, 
Tolle  culpam,  sordes  mundal 

Coram  Te  nee  Justus  forem 
Quamvis  tota  vi  laborem, 
Nee  si  fide  nunquam  cesso, 
Fletu  stillans  indefesso; 
Tibi  soli  tantum  munus — 
Salva  me,  Salvator  Unus! 

Nil  in  manu  mecum  fero, 

Sed  me  versus  crucem  gero: 

Vestimenta  nudus  oro, 

Opem  debilis  imploro, 

Fontem  Christi  quaero  immundus, 

Nisi  laves,  moribundus. 

Dum  hos  artus  vita  regit, 
Quando  nox  sepulcro  legit; 
Mortuos  quum  stare  jubes, 
Sedens  Judex  inter  nubes; — 
Jesus,  pro  me  perforatus, 
Condar  intra  tuum  latusl 

The  wonderful  hymn  has  suffered  the  mutations 
common  to  time  and  taste. 

When  I  soar  thro  *  tracts  unknown 
— becomes — 

When  I  soar  to  worlds  unknown, 
— getting  rid  of  the  unpoetic  word,  and  bettering 
the   elocution,   but   missing  the  writer's   thought 


142  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

(of  the  unknown  patJi, — Instead  of  going  to  many 
** worlds").  The  Unitarians  have  their  version, 
with  substitutes  for  the  ''atonement  lines." 

But  the  Christian  lyric  maintains  its  life  and 
inspiration  through  the  vicissitudes  of  age  and 
use,  as  all  intrinsically  superior  things  can  and 
will, — and  as  in  the  twentieth  line, — 

When  my  eyestrlngs  break  in  death; 

— modernized  to — 

When  my  eyelids  close  in  death, 

— the  hymn  will  ever  adapt  itself  to  the  new 
exigencies  of  common  speech,  without  losing  its 
vitality  and  pow^r. 

THE  TUNE, 

A  happy  inspiration  of  Dr.  Thomas  Hastings 
made  the  hymn  and  music  inevitably  one.  Almost 
anywhere  to  call  for  the  tune  of  "Toplady" 
(namesake  of  the  pious  poet)  is  as  unintelligible 
to  the  multitude  as  *'Key"  vvould  be  to  designate 
the  "Star-spangled  Banner."  The  common  people 
— thanks  to  Dr.  Hastings — have  learned  "Rock 
of  Ages"  by  sound. 

Thomas  Hastings  was  born  in  Washington,  Ct., 
1 784.  For  eight  years  he  w^as  editor  of  the  West- 
ern Recorder,  but  he  gave  his  life  to  church  music, 
and  besides  being  a  talented  tone-poet  he  wrote  as 
many  as  six  hundred  hymns.  In  1832,  by  in- 
vitation from  twelve  New  York  churches,  he  went 


I 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I43 

to  that  city,  and  did  the  main  work  of  his  life 
there,  dying,  In  1872,  at  the  good  old  age  of  eighty- 
nine.  His  musical  collections  number  fifty-three. 
He  wrote  his  famous  tune  In  1830. 

"MY  SOUL  BE  ON  THY  GUARD." 


Strangely  enough,  this  hymn,  a  trumpet  note 
of  Christian  warning  and  resolution,  was  written 
by  one  who  himself  fell  into  unworthy  ways.*  But 
the  one  strong  and  spiritual  watch-song  by  which 
he  is  remembered  appeals  for  him,  and  lets  us 
know  possibly,  something  of  his  own  conflicts. 
We  can  be  thankful  for  the  struggle  he  once 
made,  and  for  the  hymn  it  inspired.  It  is  a  voice 
of  caution  to  others. 

George  Heath,  the  author,  was  an  English  min- 
ister, born  in  1781;  died  1822.  For  a  time  he  was 
pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  at  Honlton,  De- 
vonshire, and  was  evidently  a  prolific  writer,  hav- 
ing composed  a  hundred  and  forty-four  hymns, 
an  edition  of  which  was  printed. 

THE   TUNE. 

No  other  has  been  so  familiarly  linked  with  the 
words  as  Lowell  Mason's  "Laban"  (1830).  It  has 
dash  and  animation  enough  to  reenforce  the  hymn, 
and  give  it  popular  life,  even  If  the  hymn  had  less 
earnestness  and  vigor  of  its  own. 

*I  have  been  unable  to  verify  this  statement  found  in  Mr.  Butterworth'i 
"Story  of  the  Hynans.'^— T.  B. 


144         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Ne'er  think  the  vic'try  won 

Nor  lay  thine  armor  down: 
Thy  arduous  work  will  not  be  done 

Till  thou  hast  gained  thy  crown. 

Fight  on,  my  soul  till  death 

Shall  bring  thee  to  thy  God; 
He'll  take  thee  at  thy  parting  breath 

To  His  divine  abode. 

"PEOPLE  OF  THE  LIVING  GOD." 

Montgomery  felt  every  line  of  this  hymn  as  he 
committed  it  to  paper.  He  wrote  it  when,  after 
years  in  the  "swim"  of  social  excitements  and 
ambitions,  where  his  young  independence  swept 
him  on,  he  came  back  to  the  little  church  of  his 
boyhood.  His  father  and  mother  had  gone  to  the 
West  Indies  as  missionaries,  and  died  there.  He 
was  forty-three  years  old  when,  led  by  divine  light, 
he  sought  readmission  to  the  Moravian" meeting'* 
at  Fulneck,  and  anchored  happily  in  a  haven  of 
peace. 

People  of  the  living  God 

I  have  sought  the  world  around, 

Paths  of  sin  and  sorrow  trod, 

Peace  and  comfort  nowhere  found: 

Now  to  you  my  spirit  turns — 

Turns  a  fugitive  unblest; 
Brethren,  where  your  altar  burns, 

Oh,  receive  me  into  rest. 

James  Montgomery,  son  of  Rev.  John  Mont- 
gomery^ >vas  born  at  Irvine,  Ayeshire,  Scotland, 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION,  I45 

Nov.  4,  1 771,  and  educated  at  the  Moravian 
Seminary  at  Fulneck,  Yorkshire,  Eng.  He  be- 
came the  editor  of  the  Sheffield  Iris,  and  his 
pen  was  busy  in  non-professional  as  v^ell  as  pro- 
fessional vs^ork  until  old  age.  He  died  in  Sheffield, 
April  30,  1854. 

His  literary  career  was  singularly  successful; 
and  a  glance  through  any  complete  edition  of  his 
poems  will  tell  us  why.  His  hymns  were  all 
published  during  his  lifetime,  and  all,  as  well  as 
his  longer  pieces,  have  the  purity  and  polished 
beauty,  if  not  the  strength,  of  Addison's  work. 
Like  Addison,  too,  he  could  say  that  he  had  written 
no  line  which,  dying,  he  would  wish  to  blot. 

The  best  of  Montgomery  was  in  his  hymns. 
These  were  too  many  to  enumerate  here,  and  the 
more  enduring  ones  too  familiar  to  need  enumera- 
tion. The  church  and  the  world  will  not  soon 
forget  "The   Home  in   Heaven,"— 

Forever  with  the  Lord, 

Amen,  so  let  it  be. 

Life  from  the  dead  is  in  that  word; 

*Tis  immortality. 

Nor— 

O  where  shall  rest  be  found, 

— with  its  impressive  couplet — 

'Tis  not  the  whole  of  life  to  live 
Nor  all  of  death  to  die. 

Nor  the  haunting  sweetness  of — 

There  is  a  calm  for  those  who  weep. 


146  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS   AND    TUNES. 

Nor,  indeed,  the  hymn  of  Christian  love  just  now 
before  us. 

THE    TUNE. 

The  melody  exactly  suited  to  the  gentle  trochaic 
step  of  the  home-song,  "  People  of  the  living  God,'' 
is  *' Whitman,"  composed  for  it  by  Lowell  Mason. 
Few  Christians,  in  America,  we  venture  to  say, 
could  hear  an  instrument  play  **  Whitman"  without 
mentally    repeating    Montgomery's   words. 

"TO  LEAVE  MY  DEAR  FRIENDS." 

This  hymn,  called  "The  Bower  of  Prayer,"  was 
dear  to  Christian  hearts  in  many  homes  and 
especially  in  rural  chapel  worship  half  a  century 
ago  and  earlier,  and  its  sweet  legato  melody  still 
lingers  in  the  memories  of  aged  men  and  women. 

Elder  John  Osborne,  a  New  Hampshire  preach- 
er of  the  "Christian"  (Christ-tan)  denomination, 
is  said  to  have  composed  the  tune  (and  possibly 
the  words)  about  18 15 — though  apparently  the 
music  was  arranged  from  a  flute  interlude  in  one 
of  Haydn's  themes.  The  warbling  notes  of  the 
air  are  full  of  heart-feeling,  and  usually  the  best 
available  treble  voice  sang  it  as  a  solo. 

To  leave  my  dear  friends  and  from  neighbors  to  part, 
And  go  from  my  home,  it  affects  not  my  heart 
Like  the  thought  of  absenting  myself  for  a  day 
From  that  blest  retreat  I  have  chosen  to  pray, 

I  have  chosen  to  pray. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I47 

The  early  shrill  notes  of  the  loved  nightingale 
That  dwelt  in  the  bower,  I  observed  as  my  bell: 
It  called  me  to  duty,  while  birds  in  the  air 
Sang  anthems  of  praises  as  I  went  to  prayer, 

As  I  went  to  prayer.* 

How  sweet  were  the  zephyrs  perfumed  by  the  pine, 
The  ivy,  the  balsam,  the  wild  eglantine. 
But  sweeter,  O,  sweeter  superlative  were 
The  joys  that  I  tasted  in  answer  to  prayer, 

In  answer  to  prayer. 

"SAVIOUR,  THY  DYING   LOVE." 

This  hymn  of  grateful  piety  was  written  in 
1862,  by  Rev.  S.  Dryden  Phelps,  D.D.,  of  New 
Haven,  and  first  published  in  Pure  Gold,  1871; 
afterwards  in  the  (earher)  Baptist  Hymn  and 
Tune  Book. 

Saviour,  Thy  dying  love 

Thou  gavest  me. 
Nor  should  I  aught  withhold 

Dear  Lord,  from  Thee. 

Give  me  a  faithful  heart, 

Likeness  to  Thee, 
That  each  departing  day 

Henceforth  may  see 
Some  work  of  love  begun. 
Some  deed  of  kindness  done. 
Some  wand'rer  sought  and  won, 

Something  for  Thee. 

The  penultimate  line,  originally  "Some  sinful 
wanderer  won,"  was  altered  by  the  author  him- 

*The  American  Vocalist  omits  this  stanza  as  too  fanciful  as  well  as  too  crude 


148  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

self.  The  hymn  is  found  in  most  Baptist  hymnals, 
and  was  inserted  by  Mr.  Sankey  in  Gospel  Hymns 
No.  I.  It  has  since  won  its  way  into  several 
revival  collections  and  undenominational  manuals. 
Rev.  Sylvester  Dryden  Phelps,  D.D.,  was  born 
in  Suffield,  Ct.,  May  15,  18 16,  and  studied  at  the 
Connecticut  Literary  Institution  in  that  town. 
An  early  call  to  the  ministry  turned  his  talents  to 
the  service  of  the  church,  and  his  long  settlement 
— comprising  what  might  be  called  his  principal 
life  work — was  in  New  Haven,  where  he  was 
pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church  twenty-nine 
years.     He  died  there  Nov.  23,  1895. 

THE  TUNE. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Lowry  admired  the  hymn,  and 
gave  it  a  tune  perfectly  suited  to  its  metre  and 
spirit.  It  has  never  been  sung  in  any  other. 
The  usual  title  of  it  is  "Something  for  Jesus." 
The  meaning  and  sentiment  of  both  words  and 
music  are  not  unlike  Miss  Havergal's — 

I  gave  my  life  for  thee. 
"IN  SOME  WAY  OR  OTHER." 


This  song  of  Christian  confidence  was  written 
by  Mrs.  Martha  A.  W.  Cook,  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Parsons  Cook,  editor  of  the  Puritan  Recorder, 
Boston. 

It  was  published  in  the  American  Messenger  in 
1870,  and  is  still  in  use  here,  as  a  German  ver- 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I49 

sion  of  it  is  in  Germany.     The  first  stanza  fol- 
lows, in  the  two  languages: 

In  some  way  or  other  the  Lord  will  provide. 
It  may  not  be  my  way, 
It  may  not  be  thy  way, 
And  yet  in  His  own  way 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

Sei's  so  oder  anders,  der  Herr  wird's  versehn; 
Mag's  nicht  sein,  wie  ich  will, 
Mag's  nicht  sein,  wie  du  willst, 
Doch  wird's  sein,  wie  Er  will: 
Der  Herr  wird's  versehn. 

In  the  English  version  the  easy  flow  of  the  two 
last  lines  into  one  sentence  is  an  example  of 
rhythmic  advantage  over  the  foreign  syntax. 

Mrs.  Cook  was  married  to  the  well-known 
clergyman  and  editor,  Parsons  Cook,  (i 800-1 865) 
in  Bridgeport,  Ct.,  and  survived  him  at  his  death 
in  Lynn,  Mass.  She  was  Miss  Martha  Ann 
Woodbridge,  afterwards  Mrs.  Hawley,  and  a 
widow  at  the  time  of  her  re-marriage  as  Mr.  Cook's 
second  wife. 

THE  TUNE, 

Professor  Calvin  S.  Harrington,  of  Wesley  an 
University,  Middletown,  Ct.,  set  music  to  the 
words  as  printed  in  Winnowed  Hymns  (1873)  ^"^ 
arranged  by  Dr.  Eben  Tourjee,  organizer  of  the 
great  American  Peace  Jubilee  in  Boston.  In  the 
Gospel  Hymns  it  is,  however,  superseded  by  the 
more  popular  composition  of  Philip  Phillips. 


150  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Dr.  Eben  Tourjee,  late  Dean  of  the  College  of 
Music  in  Boston  University,  and  founder  and  head 
of  the  New  England  Conservatory,  was  born  in  War- 
wick, R.  I.,  June  I,  1834.  With  only  an  acad- 
emy education  he  rose  by  native  genius,  from  a 
hard-working  boyhood  to  be  a  teacher  of  music 
and  a  master  of  its  science.  From  a  course  of 
study  in  Europe  he  returned  and  soon  made  his 
reputation  as  an  organizer  of  musical  schools  and 
sangerfests.  The  New  England  Conservatory  of 
Music  was  first  established  by  him  in  Providence, 
but  removed  in  1870  to  Boston,  its  permanent 
home.  His  doctorate  of  music  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  Wesleyan  University.  Died  in  Bos- 
ton, April  12,  1891. 

Philip  Phillips,  known  as  "the  singing  Pilgrim," 
was  born  in  Jamestown,  Chautauqua,  Co.,  N.  Y., 
Aug.  13,  1834.  He  compiled  twenty-nine  col- 
lections of  sacred  music  for  Sunday  schools, 
gospel  meetings,  etc.;  also  2l  Methodist  Hymn  and 
Tune  Book,  1866.  He  composed  a  great  number 
of  tunes,  but  wrote  no  hymns.  Some  of  his  books 
were  published  in  London,  for  he  was  a  cosmo- 
politan singer,  and  traveled  through  Europe  and 
Australia  as  well  as  America.  Died  in  Delaware, 
O.,  June  25,  1875. 

^^NEARER,  MY  GOD,  TO  THEE." 

Mr.  William  Stead,  fond  of  noting  what  is 
often  believed  to  be  the  "providential  chain    of 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I5I 

causes'*  in  everything  that  happens,  recalls  the 
fact  that  Benjamin  Flower,  editor  of  the  Cam- 
bridge  Intelligencer^  while  in  jail  (1798)  at  the 
instigation  of  Bp.  Watson  for  an  article  defending 
the  French  Revolution,  and  criticising  the  Bishop's 
political  course,  was  visited  by  several  sympa- 
thizing ladies,  one  of  whom  was  Miss  Eliza  Gould. 
The  young  lady's  first  acquaintance  with  him 
there  in  his  cell  led  to  an  attachment  which  event- 
uated in  marriage.  Of  that  marriage  Sarah 
Flower  was  born.  By  the  theory  of  providential 
sequences  Mr.  Stead  makes  it  appear  that  the 
forgotten  vindictiveness  of  a  British  prelate  "was 
the  causa  causans  of  one  of  the  most  spiritual  and 
aspiring  hymns  in  the  Christian  Hymnary." 

"Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee"  was  on  the  lips  of 
President  McKinley  as  he  lay  dying  by  a  mur- 
derer's wicked  shot.  It  is  dear  to  President  Roose- 
velt for  its  memories  of  the  battle  of  Las  Quasimas, 
where  the  Rough  Riders  sang  it  at  the  burial  of 
their  slain  comrades.  Bishop  Marvin  was  saved 
by  it  from  hopeless  dejection,  while  practically  an 
exile  during  the  Civil  War,  by  hearing  it  sung  in 
the  wilds  of  Arkansas,  by  an  old  woman  in  a  log 
hut. 

A  letter  from  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  to  a  leading  Boston 
paper  relates  the  name  and  experience  of  a  forger 
who  had  left  the  latter  city  and  wandered  eight 
years  a  fugitive  from  justice.  On  the  5th  of 
November,  (Sunday,)  1905,  he  found  himself  in 
Pittsburg,  and  ventured  into  the  Dixon  Theatre, 


152  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

where  a  religious  service  was  being  held,  to  hear 
the  music.  The  hymn  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee" 
so  overcame  him  that  he  went  out  weeping  bitterly. 
He  walked  the  floor  of  his  room  all  night,  and  in 
the  morning  telephoned  for  the  police,  confessed 
his  name  and  crime,  and  surrendered  himself  to  be 
taken  back  to  the  Boston  authorities. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Flower  Adams,  author  of  the  noble 
hymn  (supposed  to  have  been  written  in  1840), 
was  born  at  Harlow,  Eng.,  Feb.  22,  1805,  and  died 
there  in  1848.  At  her  funeral  another  of  her 
hymns  was  sung,  ending — 

When  falls  the  shadow,  cold  in  death 
I  yet  will  sing  with  fearless  breath, 
As  comes  to  me  in  shade  or  sun, 
"Father,  Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done." 

The  attempts  to  evangelize  "Nearer,  My  God,  to 
Thee"  by  those  who  cannot  forget  that  Mrs. 
Adams  was  a  Unitarian,  are  to  be  deplored.  Such 
zeal  is  as  needless  as  trying  to  sectarianize  an  Old 
Testament  Psalm.  The  poem  is  a  perfect  religious 
piece — to  be  sung  as  it  stands,  with  thanks  that  it 
was  ever  created. 

THE   TUNE. 

In  English  churches  (since  1861)  the  hymn  was 
and  may  still  be  sung  to  "Horbury,"  composed 
by  Rev.  John  B.  Dykes,  and  "St.  Edmund,"  by 
Sir  Arthur  Sullivan.  Both  tunes  are  simple  and 
appropriate,  but  such  a  hymn  earns  and  inevitably 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I53 

acquires  a  single  tune-voice,  so  that  its  music  in- 
stantly names  it  by  its  words  when  played  on  in- 
struments. Such  a  voice  was  given  it  by  Lowell 
Mason's  "  Bethany,"  (1856).  (Why  not  "  Bethel," 
instead,  every  one  who  notes  the  imagery  of  the 
words  must  wonder.)  "Bethany"  appealed  to  the 
popular  heart,  and  long  ago  (in  America)  hymn 
and  tune  became  each  other's  property.  It  is 
even  simpler  than  the  English  tunes,  and  a  single 
hearing  fixes  it  in  memory. 

"I  NEED  THEE  EVERY  HOUR." 


Mrs.  Annie  Sherwood  Hawks,  who  wrote  this 
hymn  in  1872,  was  born  in  Hoosick,  N.  Y.,  in  1835. 

She  sent  the  hymn  (five  stanzas)  to  Dr.  Lowry, 
who  composed  its  tune,  adding  a  chorus,  to  make 
it  more  effective.  It  first  appeared  in  a  small 
collection  of  original  songs  prepared  by  Lowry 
and  Doane  for  the  National  Baptist  Sunday  School 
Association,  which  met  at  Cincinnati,  O.,  Novem- 
ber, 1872,  and  was  sung  there. 

I  need  Thee  every  hour, 

Most  gracious  Lord, 
No  tender  voice  like  Thine 

Can  peace  afford. 

Chorus. 

I  need  Thee,  Oh,  I  need  Thee, 
Every  hour  I  need  Thee; 
Oh,  bless  me  now,  my  Saviour, 
I  come  to  Thee! 


154  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

One  instance,  at  least,  of  a  hymn  made  doubly 
impressive  by  its  chorus  will  be  attested  by  all  who 
have  sung  or  heard  the  pleading  words  and  music 
of  Mrs.  Hawks'  and  Dr.  Lowry's  "I  need  Thee, 
Oh,  I  need  Thee." 

"I  GAVE  MY  LIFE   FOR  THEE." 

This  was  written  in  her  youth  by  Frances  Ridley 
Havergal,  and  was  suggested  by  the  motto  over  the 
head  of  Christ  in  the  great  picture,  "Ecce  Homo," 
in  the  Art  Gallery  of  Dusseldorf,  Prussia,  where  she 
was  at  school.  The  sight — as  was  the  case  with 
young  Count  Zinzendorf — seems  to  have  had 
much  to  do  with  the  gifted  girl's  early  religious 
experience,  and  indeed  exerted  its  influence  on 
her  whole  life.  The  motto  read  "I  did  this  for 
thee;  what  doest  thou  for  me  ?"  and  the  generative 
effect  of  the  solemn  picture  and  its  question  soon 
appeared  in  the  hymn  that  flowed  from  Miss 
HavergaFs  heart  and  pen. 

I  gave  my  life  for  thee, 

My  precious  blood  I  shed, 
That  thou  might'st  ransomed  be 

And  quickened  from  the  dead. 
I  gave  my  life  for  thee: 
What  hast  thou  given  for  me  ? 

Miss  Frances  Ridley  Havergal,  sometimes  called 
"The  Theodosia  of  the  19th  century,"  was  born 
at  Astley,  Worcestershire,  Eng.,  Dec.  14,  1836. 
Her    father.    Rev.    William    Henry    Havergal,    a 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I55 

clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  himself 
a  poet  and  a  skilled  musician,  and  much  of  the 
daughter's  ability  came  to  her  by  natural  bequest 
as  well  as  by  education.  Born  a  poet,  she  became 
a  fine  instrumentalist,  a  composer  and  an  accom- 
plished linguist.  Her  health  was  frail,  but  her  life 
was  a  devoted  one,  and  full  of  good  works.  Her 
consecrated  words  were  destined  to  outlast  her  by 
many  generations. 

"Writing  is  praying  with  me,"  she  said.  Death 
met  her  in  1879,  when  still  in  the  prime  of  woman- 
hood. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  music  that  has  made  this  hymn  of  Miss 
Havergal  familiar  in  America  is  named  from  its 
first  line,  and  was  composed  by  the  lamented 
Philip  P.  Bliss  (christened  Philipp  Bliss*),  a  pupil 
of  Dr.  George  F.  Root. 

He  was  born  in  Rome,  Pa.,  Jan.  9, 1838,  and  less 
than  thirty-nine  years  later  suddenly  ended  his  life, 
a  victim  of  the  awful  railroad  disaster  at  Ashtabula 
O.,  Dec.  29,  1876,  while  returning  from  a  visit  to 
his  aged  mother.  His  wife,  Lucy  Young  Bliss, 
perished  with  him  there,  in  the  swift  flames  that 
enveloped  the  wreck  of  the  train. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Bliss  had  become  almost  a 
household  word  through  his  numerous  popular 
Christian    melodies,  which    were    the    American 


♦Mr.  Bliss  himself  changed   the   spelling  of  his  name,  preferring  to  let  the 
third  P.  do  duty  alone,  as  a  middle  initial. 


156  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

beginning  of  the  series  of  Gospel  Hymns.  Many 
of  these  are  still  favorite  prayer-meeting  tunes 
throughout  the  country  and  are  heard  in  song- 
service  at  Sunday-school  and  city  mission  meetings. 

"JESUS  KEEP  ME  NEAR  THE  CROSS." 

This  hymn,  one  of  the  best  and  probably  most 
enduring  of  Fanny  J.  Crosby's  sacred  lyrics,  was 
inspired  by  Col.  i :  29. 

Frances  Jane  Crosby  (Mrs.  Van  Alstyne)  the 
blind  poet  and  hymnist,  was  born  in  Southeast, 
N.  Y.,  March  24,  1820.  She  lost  her  eyesight  at 
the  age  of  six.  Twelve  years  of  her  younger  life 
were  spent  in  the  New  York  Institution  for  the 
Blind,  where  she  became  a  teacher,  and  in  1858 
was  happily  married  to  a  fellow  inmate,  Mr. 
Alexander  Van  Alstyne,  a  musician. 

George  F.  Root  was  for  a  time  musical  instructor 
at  the  Institution,  and  she  began  early  to  write 
words  to  his  popular  song-tunes.  "Rosalie,  the 
Prairie  Flower,"  and  the  long  favorite  melody, 
"There's  Music  in  the  Air"  are  among  the  many 
to  which  she  supplied  the  text  and  the  song  name. 

She  resides  in  Bridgeport,  Ct.,  where  she  enjoys 
a  serene  and  happy  old  age.  She  has  written  over 
six  thousand  hymns,  and  possibly  will  add  other 
pearls  to  the  cluster  before  she  goes  up  to  join  the 
singing  saints. 

Jesus,  keep  me  near  the  Cross, 
There  a  precious  Fountain 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I57 

Free  to  all,  a  healing  stream, 

Flows  from  Calv'ry's  mountain. 
Chorus. 

In  the  Cross,  in  the  Cross 

Be  my  glory  ever. 
Till  my  raptured  soul  shall  find 

Rest  beyond  the  river. 

:|c     4:     *     *     *     * 

Near  the  Cross!  O  Lamb  of  God, 

Bring  its  scenes  before  me; 
Help  me  walk  from  day  to  day 

With  its  shadows  o'er  me. 
Chorus. 

William  Howard  Doane,  writer  of  the  music  to 
this  hymn,  was  born  in  Preston,  Ct.,  Feb.  3,  1831. 
He  studied  at  Woodstock  Academy,  and  subse- 
quently acquired  a  musical  education  which  earned 
him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Music  conferred  upon 
him  by  Denison  University  in  1875.  Having  a 
mechanical  as  well  as  musical  gift,  he  patented 
more  than  seventy  inventions,  and  was  for  some 
years  engaged  with  manufacturing  concerns,  both 
as  employe  and  manager,  but  his  interest  in  song- 
worship  and  in  Sunday-school  and  church  work 
never  abated,  and  he  is  well  known  as  a  trainer  of 
choirs  and  composer  of  some  of  the  best  modern 
devotional  tunes.     His  home  is  in  Cincinnati,  O. 

"I  WOULD  NOT  LIVE  ALWAY." 

This  threnody  (we  may  almost  call  it)  of  W.  A. 
Muhlenberg,  illustrating  one  phase  of  Christian  ex- 


158         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

perience,  was  the  outpouring  of  a  poetic  melancholy 
not  uncommon  to  young  and  finely  strung  souls. 
He  composed  it  in  his  twenties, — long  before  he  be- 
came "Doctor"  Muhlenberg, — and  for  years  after- 
wards tried  repeatedly  to  alter  it  to  a  more  cheerful 
tone.  But  the  poem  had  its  mission,  and  it  had 
fastened  itself  in  the  public  imagination,  either  by 
its  contagious  sentiment  or  the  felicity  of  its  tune, 
and  the  author  was  obliged  to  accept  the  fame  of  it 
as  it  originally  stood. 

William  Augustus  Muhlenberg  D.D.  was  bom 
in  Philadelphia,  Sept.  16,  1796,  the  great-grandson 
of  Dr.  Henry  M.  Muhlenberg,  founder  of  the  Luth- 
eran church  in  America.  In  181 7  he  left  his  an- 
cestral communion,  and  became  an  Episcopal 
priest. 

As  Rector  of  St.  James  church,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
he  interested  himself  in  the  improvement  of  eccle- 
siastical hymnody,  and  did  much  good  reforming 
work.  After  a  noble  and  very  active  life  as  pro- 
moter of  religious  education  and  Christian  union, 
and  as  a  friend  and  benefactor  of  the  poor,  he 
died  April,  8,  1877,  in  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y. 

THE     TUNE. 

This  was  composed  by  Mr.  George  Kingsley  in 
1833,  and  entitled  "Frederick"  (dedicated  to  the 
Rev.  Frederick  T.  Gray).  Issued  first  as  sheet 
music,  it  became  popular,  and  soon  found  a  place 
in  the  hymnals.    Dr.  Louis  Benson  says  of  the  con- 


Frances 

Ridley 

Havergal 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  I59 

ditions  and  the  fancy  of  the  time,  "The  standard 
of  church   music   did   not   differ  materially  from 

that    of    parlor    music Several    editors    have 

attempted  to  put  a  newer  tune  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Kingsley's.  It  was  in  vain,  simply  because  words 
and  melody  both  appeal  to  the  same  taste/' 

"SUN  OF  MY  SOUL,  MY  SAVIOUR  DEAR/^ 

This  gem  from  Keble's  Christian  Tear  illustrates 
the  life  and  character  of  its  pious  author,  and,  like 
all  the  hymns  of  that  celebrated  collection,  is  an 
incitive  to  spiritual  thought  for  the  thoughtless,  as 
well  as  a  language  for  those  who  stand  in  the  Holy 
of  Holies. 

The  Rev.  John  Keble  was  born  in  Cain,  St.  Ald- 
wyn,  April  25,  1792.  He  took  his  degree  of  A.  M. 
and  was  ordained  and  settled  at  Fairford,  where  he 
began  the  parochial  work  that  ceased  only  with  his 
life.    He  died  at  Bournmouth,  March  29,  1866. 

His  settlement  at  Fairford,  in  charge  of  three 
small  curacies,  satisfied  his  modest  ambition, 
though  altogether  they  brought  himonly  about^ioo 
per  year.  Here  he  preached,  wrote  his  hymns  and 
translations,  performed  his  pastoral  work,  and 
was  happy.  Temptation  to  wider  fields  and  larger 
salary  never  moved  him. 

THE    TUNE. 

The  music  to  this  hymn  of  almost  unparalleled 
poetic  and  spiritual  beauty  was  arranged  from  a 


l6o         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

German  Choral  of  Peter  RItter  (i  760-1 846)  by 
William  Henry  Monk,  Mus.  Doc,  born  London, 
1823.  Dr.  Monk  was  a  lecturer,  composer,  editor, 
and  professor  of  vocal  music  at  King's  College. 
This  noble  tune  appears  sometimes  under  the 
name  **Hursley"  and  supersedes  an  earlier  one 
("Halle")  by  Thomas  Hastings. 

Sun  of  my  soul,  my  Saviour  dear, 
It  is  not  night  if  Thou  be  near. 
O  may  no  earth-born  cloud  arise 
To  hide  Thee  from  Thy  servants*  eyes. 

Abide  with  me  from  morn  till  eve, 
For  without  Thee  I  cannot  live 
Abide  with  me  when  night  is  nigh, 
For  without  Thee  I  cannot  die. 

The  tune  "Hursley"  is  a  choice  example  of  po- 
lyphonal  sweetness  in  uniform  long  notes  of  perfect 
chord. 

The  tune  of  "Canonbury,"  by  Robert  Schu- 
mann, set  to  Keble's  hymn,  "New  every  morn- 
mg  is  the  love,"  is  deservedly  a  favorite  for  flow- 
ing long  metres,  but  it  could  never  replace 
"Hursley"  with  "Sun  of  my  soul." 

"DID  CHRIST  O'ER  SINNERS  WEEP? " 

The  Rev.  Benjamin  Beddome  WTOte  this  tender 
hymn-poem  while  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Congre- 
gation at  Bourton-on-the-water,  Gloucestershire, 
Eng,    He  was  born  at  Henley,  Chatwickshire,  Jan. 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  l6l 

23,  1 71 7.  Settled  in  1743,  he  remained  with  the 
same  church  till  his  death,  Sept.  3,  1795.  His 
hymns  were  not  collected  and  published  till  18 18. 

THE   TUNE. 

"Dennis,"  a  soft  and  smoothly  modulated  har- 
mony, is  oftenest  sung  to  the  words,  and  has  no 
note  out  of  sympathy  with  their  deep  feeling. 

Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  weep, 

And  shall  our  cheeks  be  dry  ? 
Let  floods  of  penitential  grief 

Burst  forth  from  every  eye. 

The  Son  of  God  in  tears 

Admiring  angels  see! 
Be  thou  astonished,  O  my  soul; 

He  shed  those  tears  for  thee. 

He  wept  that  we  might  weep; 

Each  sin  demands  a  tear: 
In  heaven  alone  no  sin  is  found, 

And  there's  no  weeping  there. 

The  tune  of"  Dennis"  was  adapted  by  Lowell 
Mason  from  Johann  Georg  Nageli,  a  Swiss  music 
pubhsher,  composer  and  poet.  He  was  born  in 
Zurich,  1768.  It  is  told  of  him  that  his  irrepres- 
sible genius  once  tempted  him  to  violate  the  ethics 
of  authorship.  While  publishing  Beethoven's  three 
great  solo  sonatas  (Opus  31)  he  interpolated  two 
bars  of  his  own,  an  act  much  commented  upon  in 
musical  circles,  but  which  does  not  seem  to  have 
cost   him    Beethoven's  friendship.     Possibly,  like 


l62  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Murillo  to  the  servant  who  meddled  with  his  paint- 
ings, the  great  master  forgave  the  liberty,  because 
the  work  was  so  good. 

Nageli's  compositions  are  mostly  vocal,  for  school 
and  church  use,  though  some  are  of  a  gay  and  play- 
ful nature.  The  best  remembered  of  his  secular  and 
sacred  styles  are  his  blithe  aria  to  the  song  of  Moore, 
"Life  let  us  cherish,  while  yet  the  taper  glows" 
and  the  sweet  choral  that  voices  Beddome's  hymn. 

*  'MY  JESUS,  I  LOVE  THEE." 

The  real  originator  of  the  Coronation  Hymnal, 
a  book  into  whose  making  w^ent  five  years  of  prayer, 
was  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon,  late  Pastor  of  the  Clarendon 
St.  Baptist  church,  Boston.  While  the  volume  was 
slowly  taking  form  and  plan  he  was  wont  to  hum  to 
himself,  or  cause  to  be  played  by  one  of  his  family, 
snatches  and  suggestions  of  new  airs  that  came  to 
him  in  connection  with  his  own  hymns,  and 
others  which  seemed  to  have  no  suitable  music. 
The  anonymous  hymn,  "My  Jesus,  I  Love  Thee," 
he  found  in  a  London  hymn-book,  and  though  the 
tune  to  which  it  had  been  sung  in  England  was 
sent  to  him  some  time  later,  it  did  not  sound  sym- 
pathetic. Dissatisfied,  and  with  the  ideal  in  his 
mind  of  what  the  feeling  should  be  in  the  melody 
to  such  a  hymn,  he  meditated  and  prayed  over  the 
words  till  in  a  moment  of  inspiration  the  beautiful 
air  sang  itself  to  him*  which  with  its  simple  concords 

♦The  fact  that  this  sweet  melody  recalls  to  some  a  similar  tune  sung 
sixty  years  ago  reminds  us  again  of  the  story  of  the  tune  "America."     It  is 


HYMNS    OF    CHRISTIAN    DEVOTION.  163 

has  carried  the  hymn  into  the  chapels  of  every  de- 
nomination. 

My  Jesus,  I  love  Thee,  I  know  Thou  art  mine, 
For  Thee  all  the  pleasures  of  sin  I  resign; 
My  gracious  Redeemer,  my  Saviour  art  Thou, 
If  ever  I  loved  Thee,  my  Jesus,  'tis  now. 

****** 

I  will  love  Thee  in  life,  I  will  love  Thee  in  death. 
And  praise  Thee  as  long  as  Thou  lendest  me  breath, 
And  say  when  the  death-dew  lies  cold  on  my  brow. 
If  ever  I  loved  Thee,  my  Jesus,  'tis  now. 

In  mansions  of  glory  and  endless  delight 
I'll  ever  adore  Thee,  unveiled  to  my  sight. 
And  sing,  with  the  glittering  crown  on  my  brow. 
If  ever  I  loved  Thee,  my  Jesus,  'tis  now. 

The  memory  of  the  writer  returns  to  a  day  in  a 
railway-car  en  route  to  the  great  Columbian  Fair  in 
Chicago  when  the  tired  passengers  were  suddenly 
surprised  and  charmed  by  the  music  of  this  melody. 
A  young  Christian  man  and  woman,  husband  and 
wife,  had  begun  to  sing  "My  Jesus,  I  love  Thee." 
Their  voices  (a  tenor  and  soprano)  were  clear  and 
sweet,  and  every  one  of  the  company  sat  up  to  lis- 
ten with  a  look  of  mingled  admiration  and  rehef. 
Here  was  something,  after  all,  to  make  a  long  jour- 
ney less  tedious.  They  sang  all  the  four  verses  and 
paused.  There  was  no  clapping  of  hands,  for  a  rev- 
erential hush  had  been  cast  over  the  audience  by 

not  impossible  that  an  unconscious  memory  helped  to  shape  the  air  that  came 
to  Dr.  Gordon's  mind;  though  unborrowed  similarities  have  been  inevitaWle 
in  the  whole  history  of  music 


164  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

the  sacred  music.  Instead  of  the  inevitable  ap- 
plause that  follows  mere  entertainment,  a  gentle 
but  eager  request  for  more  secured  the  repetition  of 
the  delightful  duet.  This  occurred  again  and  again, 
till  every  one  in  the  car — and  some  had  never  heard 
thetuneorv^ords  before — must  have  learned  them 
by  heart.  Fatigue  w^as  forgotten,  miles  had  been 
reduced  to  furlongs  in  a  v^eary  trip,  and  a  company 
of  strangers  had  been  lifted  to  a  holier  plane  of 
thought. 

Besides  this  melody  there  are  four  tunes  by  Dr. 
Gordon  in  his  collection,  three  of  them  with  his  own 
words.  In  all  there  are  eleven  of  his  hymns.  Of 
these  the  "Good  morning  in  Glory,"  set  to  his 
music,  is  an  emotional  lyric  admirable  in  revival 
meetings,  and  the  one  beginning  "O  Holy  Ghost, 
Arise"  is  still  sung,  and  called  for  affectionately  as 
"Gordon's  Hymn." 

Rev.  Adoniram  Judson  Gordon  D.  D.  was  born 
in  New  Hampton, N.H.,  April  19,  1836,  and  died  in 
Boston,  Feb.  2d,  1895,  after  a  life  of  unsurpassed 
usefulness  to  his  fellowmen  and  devotion  to  his 
Divine  Master.  Like  Phillips  Brooks  he  went  to  his 
grave  "in  all  his  glorious  prime,"  and  his  loss  is 
equally  lamented.  He  was  a  descendant  of  John 
Robinson  of  Leyden. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


MISSIONARY  HYMNS, 


"JESUS  SHALL   REIGN    WHERE'ER    THE    SUN." 

One  of  Watts'  sublimest  hymns,  this  Hebrew 
ode  to  the  final  King  and  His  endless  dominion 
expands  the  majestic  prophesy  in  the  seventy- 
second  Psalm: 

Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys  run, 
His  kingdom  stretch  from  shore  to  shore 
Till  moons  shall  wax  and  wane  no  more. 

The  hymn  itself  could  almost  claim  to  be  known 
"where'er  the  sun"  etc.,  for  Christian  missionaries 
have  sung  it  in  every  land,  if  not  in  every  lan- 
guage. 

One  of  the  native  kings  in  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
who  had  been  converted  through  the  ministry  of 
English  missionaries,  substituted  a  Christian  for 
a  pagan  constitution  in  1862.  There  were  five 
thousand  of  his  subjects  gathered  at  the  ceremo- 
nial, and  they  joined  as  with  one  voice  in  singing 
this  hymn, 

(165) 


l66  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

THE    TUNE. 

"Old  Hundred"  has  often  lent  the  notes  of 
its  great  plain-song  to  the  sonorous  lines,  and 
"Duke  Street/'  with  superior  melody  and  scarcely 
inferior  grandeur,  has  given  them  wings;  but 
the  choice  of  many  for  music  that  articulates  the 
life  of  the  hymn  would  be  the  tune  of  "Samson," 
from  Handel's  Oratorio  so  named.  It  appears  as 
No.  469  in  the  Evangelical  Hymnal. 

Handel  had  no  peer  in  the  art  or  instinct  of 
making  a  note  speak  a  word. 

* 7OY  TO  THE  WORLD!  THE  LORD  IS  COME!" 

This  hymn,  also  by  Watts,  is  often  sung  as  a 
Christmas  song;  but  "The  Saviour  Reigns"  and  "He 
Rules  the  World"  are  bursts  of  prophetic  triumph 
always  apt  and  stimulating  in  missionary  meetings. 

Here,  again,  the  great  Handel  lends  appropriate 
aid,  for  "Antioch,"  the  popular  tone-consort  of 
the  hymn,  is  an  adaptation  from  his  "Messiah." 
The  arrangement  has  been  credited  to  Lowell 
Mason,  but  he  seems  to  have  taken  it  from  an 
English  collection  by  Clark  of  Canterbury. 

"O'ER  THE   GLOOMY    HILLS    OF  DARKNESS." 

—  -   ■  ' 

Dros  y  hrinian  tywyl  niwliog. 

This  notable  hymn  was  written,  probably  about 
1750,  by  the  Rev.  William  Williams,  a  Welsh 
Calvinistic   Methodist,  born   at   Cefnycoed,   Jan. 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  167 

7,  1717,  near  Llandover.  He  began  the  study  of 
medicine,  but  took  deacon's  orders,  and  was  for 
a  time  an  itinerant  preacher,  having  left  the 
estabHshed  Church.  Died  at  Pantycelyn,  Jan. 
II,  1 78 1. 

His  hymn,  Hke  the  two  preceding,  antedates 
the  great  Missionary  Movement  by  many  years. 

CTer  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness 

Look  my  soul!  be  still,  and  gaze! 
See  the  promises  advancing 

To  a  glorious  Day  of  grace  1 
Blessed  Jubilee, 
Let  thy  glorious  morning  dawnl 

Let  the  dark,  benighted  pagan. 

Let  the  rude  barbarian  see 
That  divine  and  glorious  conquest 

Once  obtained  on  Calvary. 
Let  the  Gospel 
Loud  resound  from  pole  to  pole. 

This  song  of  anticipation  has  dropped  out  of  the 
modern  hymnals,  but  the  last  stanza  lingers  in 
many  memories. 

Fly  abroad,  thou  mighty  Gospel! 

Win  and  conquer,  never  cease; 
May  thy  lasting  wide  dominion 

Multiply  and  still  increase. 

Sway  Thy  scepter. 

Saviour,  all  the  world  around! 

THE    TUNE. 

Oftener  than  any  other  the  music  of  "Zion" 
has    been    the    expression    of  William    Williams' 


1 68         STORY  OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Missionary  Hymn.    It  was  composed  by  Thomas 
Hastings,  in  Washington,  Ct.,  1830. 

^'HASTEN,  LORD,  THE  GLORIOUS  TIME." 

Hasten,  Lord,  the  glorious  time 

When  beneath  Messiah's  sway 
Every  nation,  every  cHme 

Shall  the  Gospel  call  obey. 
Mightiest  kings  its  power  shall  own, 

Heathen  tribes  His  name  adore, 
Satan  and  his  host  o'erthrown 

Bound  in  chains  shall  hurt  no  more. 

Miss  Harriet  Auber,  the  author  of  this  melodious 
hymn,  was  a  daughter  of  James  Auber  of  London, 
and  was  born  in  that  city,  Oct.  4,  1773.  After 
leaving  London  she  led  a  secluded  life  at  Brox- 
bourne  and  Hoddesdon,  in  Hertfordshire,  writing 
devotional  poetry  and  sacred  songs  and  para- 
phrases. 

Her  Spirit  of  the  Psalms,  published  in  1829, 
was  a  collection  of  lyrics  founded  on  the  Biblical 
Psalms.  "  Hasten  Lord,"  etc.,  is  from  Ps.  72,  known 
for  centuries  to  Christendom  as  one  of  the  Messi- 
anic Psalms.  Her  best-known  hymns  have  the 
same  inspiration,  as — 

Wide,  ye  heavenly  gates,  unfold. 

Sweet  is  the  work,  O  Lord. 

With  joy  we  hail  the  sacred  day. 

Miss  Auber  died  in  Hoddesdon,  Jan.  20,  1862. 
She  lived  to  witness  and  sympathise  with  the 
pioneer  missionary  enterprise  of  the  19th  century, 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  169 

and,  although  she  could  not  stand  among  the 
leaders  of  the  battle-line  in  extending  the  conquest 
of  the  world  for  Christ,  she  was  happy  in  having 
written  a  campaign  hymn  which  they  loved  to  sing. 
(It  is  curious  that  so  pains-taking  a  work  as 
Julian's  Dictionary  of  Hymns  and  Hymn-writers 
credits  "With  joy  we  hail  the  sacred  day"  to  both 
Miss  Auber  and  Henry  Francis  Lyte.  Coinci- 
dences are  known  where  different  hymns  by  differ- 
ent authors  begin  with  the  same  line;  and  in  this 
case  one  writer  was  dead  before  the  other's  works 
were  published.  Possibly  the  collector  may  have 
seen  a  forgotten  hymn  of  Lyte's,  with  that  first  line.) 
The  tune  that  best  interprets  this  hymn  in  spirit 
and  in  living  music  is  Lowell  Mason's  "Eltham." 
Its  harmony  is  like  a  chime  of  bells. 

"LET  PARTY  NAMES  NO  MORE." 


Let  party  names  no  more 

The  Christian  world  o'erspread; 
Gentile  and  Jew,  and  bond  and  free, 

Are  one  in  Christ  the  Head. 

This  hymn  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Beddome  sounds 
like  a  prelude  to  the  grand  rally  of  the  Christian 
Churches  a  generation  later  for  united  advance 
into  foreign  fields.  It  was  an  after-sermon  hymn 
— like  so  many  of  Watts  and  Doddridge — and 
spoke  a  good  man's  longing  to  see  all  sects  stand 
shoulder  to  shoulder  in  a  common  crusade. 

Tune — Boylston. 


170  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"WATCHMAN,  TELL  US   OF   THE  NIGHT." 

The  tune  written  to  this  peaHng  hymn  of  Sir 
John  Bowring  by  Lowell  Mason  has  never  been 
superseded.  In  animation  and  vocal  splendor 
it  catches  the  author's  own  clear  call,  echoing  the 
shout  of  Zion's  sentinels  from  city  to  city,  and 
happily  reproducing  in  movement  and  phrase  the 
great  song-dialogue.  Words  and  music  together, 
the  piece  ranks  with  the  foremost  missionary 
lyrics.  Like  the  greater  Mason-Heber  world- 
song,  it  has  acquired  no  arbitrary  name,  appearing 
in  Mason's  own  tune-books  under  its  first  hymn- 
line  and  likewise  in  many  others.  A  few  hymnals 
have  named  it  "  Bowring,"  (and  why  not  ?)  and 
some  later  ones  simply  "Watchman." 

I. 

Watchman,  tell  us  of  the  night, 

What  its  signs  of  promise  are! 

(Antistrophe) 

Trav'Ier,  on  yon  mountain  height, 

See  that  glory-beaming  star! 

2 

Watchman,  does  its  beauteous  ray 

Aught  of  hope  or  joy  foretell  ? 
(Antistrophe) 
Trav'Ier,  yes;  it  brings  the  day, 

Promised  day  of  Israel. 

3 

Watchman,  tell  us  of  the  night; 
Higher  yet  that  star  ascends. 
(Antistrophe) 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  I7I 

Trav'lcr,  blessedness  and  light 

Peace  and  truth  its  course  portends. 

4 
Watchman,  will  its  beams  alone 

Gild  the  spot  that  gave  them  birth  ? 
(Antistrophe) 
Trav'ler,  ages  are  its  own. 

See!  it  bursts  o'er  all  the  earth. 

"YE  CHRISTIAN   HERALDS,  GO   PROCLAIM." 

In  some  versions  "Ye  Christian  heroes,^'  etc. 

Professor  David  R.  Breed  attributes  this  stirring 
hymn  to  Mrs.  Vokes  (or  Voke)  an  EngHsh  or 
Welsh  lady,  who  is  supposed  to  have  written  it 
somewhere  near  1780,  and  supports  the  claim  by 
its  date  of  pubHcation  in  Missionary  and  Devo- 
tional Hymns  at  Portsea,  Wales,  in  1797.  In 
this  Dr.  Breed  follows  (he  says)  "the  accepted 
tradition."  On  the  other  hand  the  Coronation 
Hymnal  (1894)  refers  the  authorship  to  a  Baptist 
minister,  the  Rev.  Bourne  Hall  Draper,  of  South- 
ampton (Eng.),  born  1775,  and  this  choice  has  the 
approval  of  Dr.  Charles  Robinson.  The  question 
occurs  whether,  when  the  hymn  was  published  in 
good  faith  as  Mrs.  Vokes',  it  was  really  the  work 
of  a  then  unknown  youth  of  twenty-two. 

The  probability  is  that  the  hymn  owns  a  mother 
instead  of  a  father — and  a  grand  hymn  it  is;  one 
of  the  most  stimulating  in  Missionary  song-literature. 

The  stanza — 


172         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

God  shield  you  with  a  wall  of  fire  1 
With  flaming  zeal  your  breasts  inspire; 
Bid  raging  winds  their  fury  cease, 
And  hush  the  tumult  into  peace, 

— has  been  tampered  with  by  editors,  altering  the 
last  line  to  "Calm  the  troubled  seas,"  etc.,  (for  the 
sake  of  the  longer  vowel;)  but  the  substitution, 
''Hell  shield  you,"  etc.,  in  the  first  Hne,  turns  a 
prayer  into  a  mere  statement. 

The  hymn  was — and  should  remain — a  God- 
speed to  men  like  William  Carey,  who  had  already 
begun  to  think  and  preach  his  immortal  motto, 
"Attempt  great  things  for  God;  expect  great  things 
of  God." 

THE   TUNE 

Is  the  "Missionary  Chant,"  and  no  other.  Its 
composer,  Heinrich  Christopher  Zeuner,  was  born 
in  Eisleben,  Saxony,  Sept.  20,  1795.  He  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1827,  ^"^  ^^^  ^^^  many 
years  organist  at  Park  Street  Church,  Boston,  and 
for  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society.  In  1854  he 
removed  to  Philadelphia  where  he  served  three 
years  as  organist  to  St.  Andrews  Church,  and  Arch 
Street  Presbyterian.  He  became  insane  in  1 857,  and 
in  November  of  that  year  died  by  his  own  hand. 

He  published  an  oratorio  "The  Feast  of  Tab- 
ernacles," and  two  popular  books,  the  American 
Harp,  1832,  and  The  Ancient  Lyre,  1833.  His 
compositions  are  remarkably  spirited  and  vig- 
orous, and  his  work  as   a  tune-maker  was  much 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  I73 

in  demand  during  his  life,  and  is  sure  to  continue, 
in  its  best  examples,  as  long  as  good  sacred  music 
is  appreciated. 

To  another  beautiful  missionary  hymn  of  Mrs. 
Vokes,  of  quieter  tone,  but  songful  and  sweet. 
Dr.  Mason  wrote  the  tune  of  "Migdol."  It  is  its 
musical  twin. 

Soon  may  the  last  glad  song  arise 
Through  all  the  millions  of  the  skies, 
That  song  of  triumph  which  records 
That  "all  the  earth  is  now  the  Lord's." 

"ON  THE  MOUNTAIN  TOP  APPEARING." 

This  admired  and  always  popular  church  hymn 
was  written  near  the  beginning  of  the  last  century 
by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Kelly,  born  in  Dublin,  1760. 
He  was  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Chief  Baron  Thomas 
Kelly  of  that  city,  a  judge  of  the  Irish  Court  of 
Common  Pleas.  His  father  designed  him  for  the 
legal  profession,  but  after  his  graduation  at 
Trinity  College  he  took  holy  orders  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  labored  as  a  clergyman  among  the 
scenes  of  his  youth  for  more  than  sixty  years, 
becoming  a  Nonconformist  in  his  later  ministry. 
He  was  a  sweet-souled  man,  who  made  troops  of 
friends,  and  was  honored  as  much  for  his  piety  as 
for  his  poetry,  music,  and  oriental  learning. 

"I  expect  never  to  die,"  he  said,  when  Lord 
Plunkett  once  told  him  he  would  reach  a  great  age. 
He  finished  his  earthly  work  on  the  14th  of  May, 


174         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

1855,  when  he  was  eighty-five  years  old.  But  he 
still  lives.  His  zeal  for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ  prompted  his  best  hymn. 

On  the  mountain-top  appearing, 

Lo!  the  sacred  herald  stands, 
Joyful  news  to  Zion  bearing, 

Zion  long  in  hostile  lands; 
Mourning  captive, 
God  himself  will  loose  thy  bands. 

Has  the  night  been  long  and  mournful  ? 

Have  thy  friends  unfaithful  proved  ? 
Have  thy  foes  been  proud  and  scornful, 

By  thy  sighs  and  tears  unmoved  ? 
Cease  thy  mourning; 
Zion  still  is  well  beloved. 

THE    TUNE. 

To  presume  that  Kelly  made  both  words  and 
music  together  is  possible,  for  he  was  himself  a 
composer,  but  no  such  original  tune  seems  to 
survive.  In  modern  use  Dr.  Hastings'  "Zion"  is 
most  frequently  attached  to  the  hymn,  and  was 
probably  written  for  it. 

"YE  CHRISTIAN  HEROES,  WAKE  TO  GLORY." 

This  rather  crude  parody  on  the  "Marsellaise 
Hymn"  (see  Chap.  9)  is  printed  in  the  American 
Vocalisty  among  numerous  samples  of  early  New- 
England  psalmody  of  untraced  authorship.  It 
might  have  been  sung  at  primitive  missionary 
meetings,  to  spur  the  zeal  and  faith  of  a  Francis 


0SI^)^ 


The  Right  Rev. 
Reginald  Heber,  D.D. 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  I75 

Mason  or  a  Harriet  Newell.  It  expresses,  at  least, 
the  new-kindled  evangelical  spirit  of  the  long-ago 
consecrations  in  American  church  life  that  first 
sent  the  Christian  ambassadors  to  foreign  lands, 
and  followed  them  with  benedictions. 

Ye  Christian  heroes,  wake  to  glory: 

Hark,  hark!  what  milHons  bid  you  rise! 
See  heathen  nations  bow  before  you, 

Behold  their  tears,  and  hear  their  cries. 
Shall  pagan  priest,  their  errors  breeding. 

With  darkling  hosts,  and  flags  unfurled, 
Spread  their  delusions  o'er  the  world. 

Though  Jesus  on  the  Cross  hung  bleeding  ? 
To  arms!  To  arms! 
Christ's  banner  fling  abroad! 
March  on!  March  on!  all  hearts  resolved 

To  bring  the  world  to  God. 

O,  Truth  of  God!  can  man  resign  thee. 

Once  having  felt  thy  glorious  flame? 
Can  rolling  oceans  e'er  prevent  thee. 

Or  gold  the  Christian's  spirit  tame  ? 
Too  long  we  slight  the  world's  undoing; 

The  word  of  God,  salvation's  plan. 
Is  yet  almost  unknown  to  man. 

While  millions  throng  the  road  to  ruin. 
To  arms!  to  arms! 

The  Spirit's  sword  unsheath: 
March  on!  March  on!  all  hearts  resolved, 
To  victory  or  death. 

"HAIL  TO  THE  LORD'S  ANOINTED." 

James  Montgomery  (says  Dr.   Breed)  is  "dis- 
tinguished  as   the   only  layman   besides   Cowper 


176         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

among  hymn-writers  of  the  front  rank  in  the 
English  language."  How  many  millions  have 
recited  and  sung  his  fine  and  exhaustively  de- 
scriptive poem, — 

Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 

— selections  from  almost  any  part  of  which  are 
perfect  definitions,  and  have  been  standard  hymns 
on  prayer  for  three  generations.  English  Hym- 
nology  would  as  unwillingly  part  with  his  missionary 
hymns, — 

The  king  of  glory  we  proclaim. 

Hark,  the  song  of  jubilee! 

— and,  noblest  of  all,  the  lyric  of  prophecy  and 
praise  which  heads  this  paragraph. 

Hail  to  the  Lord's  anointed. 

King  David's  greater  Son! 
Hail,  in  the  time  appointed 

His  reign  on  earth  begun. 

ic     4:     4:     4:     4:     4: 

Arabia's  desert  ranger 

To  Him  shall  bow  the  knee. 
The  Ethiopian  stranger 

His  glory  come  to  see. 

4:     4:     *     4c     4:     * 

Kings  shall  fall  down  before  Him 

And  gold  and  incense  bring; 
All  nations  shall  adore  Him, 

His  praise  all  people  sing. 

The  hymn  is  really  the  seventy-second  Psalm 
in  metre,  and  as  a  version  it  suffers  nothing  by 


MISSIONARY   HYMNS.  1 77 

comparison  with  that  of  Watts.  Montgomery 
wrote  it  as  a  Christmas  ode.  It  was  sung  Dec. 
25,  1 82 1,  at  a  Moravian  Convocation,  but  in  1822 
he  recited  it  at  a  great  missionary  meeting  in 
Liverpool,  and  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  was  so  charmed 
with  it  that  he  inserted  it  in  his  famous  Com- 
mentary. In  no  long  time  afterwards  it  found  its 
way  into  general  use. 

The  spirit  of  his  missionary  parents  was  Mont- 
gomery's Christian  legacy,  and  in  exalted  poetical 
moments  it  stirred  him  as  the  divine  afflatus  kindled 
the  old  prophets. 

THE   TUNE, 

The  music  editors  in  some  hymnals  have  bor- 
rowed the  favorite  choral  variously  named  "Webb" 
in  honor  of  its  author,  and  "The  Morning  Light 
is  Breaking"  from  the  first  line  of  its  hymn. 
Later  hymnals  have  chosen  Sebastian  Wesley's 
"Aurelia"  to  fit  the  hymn,  with  a  movement  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  "Webb" ;  also  a  German  B  flat 
melody  "Ellacombe,"  undated,  with  livelier  step 
and  a  ringing  chime  of  parts.  No  one  of  these 
is  inappropriate. 

Samuel  Sebastian  Wesley,  grandson  of  Charles 
Wesley  the  great  hymnist,  was  born  in  London, 
1 8 10.  Like  his  father,  Samuel,  he  became  a 
distinguished  musician,  and  was  organist  at 
Exeter,  Winchester  and  Gloucester  Cathedrals. 
Oxford  gave  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Music. 


178  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

He  composed  instrumental  melodies  besides  many 
anthems,  services,  and  other  sacred  pieces  for 
choir  and  congregational  singing.  Died  in  Glou- 
cester, April  19,  1876. 

"FROM  GREENLAND'S  ICY  MOUNTAINS." 

The  familiar  story  of  this  hymn  scarcely  needs 
repeating;  how  one  Saturday  afternoon  in  the 
year  18 19,  young  Reginald  Heber,  Rector  of 
Hodnet,  sitting  with  his  father-in-law,  Dean 
Shipley,  and  a  few  friends  in  the  Wrexham 
Vicarage,  was  suddenly  asked  by  the  Dean  to 
**  write  something  to  sing  at  the  missionary  meeting 
tomorrow,"  and  retired  to  another  part  of  the  room 
while  the  rest  went  on  talking;  how,  very  soon  after, 
he  returned  with  three  stanzas,  which  were  hailed 
with  delighted  approval;  how  he  then  insisted 
upon  adding  another  octrain  to  the  hymn  and 
came  back  with — 

Waft,  waft,  ye  winds.  His  story. 
And  you,  ye  waters,  roll; 

— and  how  the  great  lyric  was  sung  in  Wrexham 
Church  on  Sunday  morning  for  the  first  time  in  its 
life.  The  story  is  old  but  always  fresh.  Nothing 
could  better  have  emphasized  the  good  Dean's 
sermon  that  day  in  aid  of  "The  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  than 
that  unexpected  and  glorious  lyric  of  his  poet  son- 
in-law. 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  179 

By  common  consent  Heber's  "Missionary  Hymn" 
is  the  silver  trumpet  among  all  the  rallying  bugles 
of  the  church. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  union  of  words  and  music  in  this  instance 
is  an  example  of  spiritual  affinity.  "What  God 
hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put  asunder." 
The  story  of  the  tune  is  a  record  of  providential 
birth  quite  as  interesting  as  that  of  the  hymn.  In 
1823,  ^  ^^^y  ^^  Savannah,  Ga.,  having  received 
and  admired  a  copy  of  Heber's  lyric  from  England, 
desired  to  sing  it  or  hear  it  sung,  but  knew  no 
music  to  fit  the  metre.  She  finally  thought  of  a 
young  clerk  in  a  bank  close  by,  Lowell  Mason  by 
name,  who  sometimes  wrote  music  for  recreation, 
and  sent  her  son  to  ask  him  if  he  would  make  a 
tune  that  would  sing  the  lines.  The  boy  returned 
in  half  an  hour  with  the  composition  that  doubled 
Heber's  fame  and  made  his    own. 

In  the  words  of  Dr.  Charles  Robinson,  "Like 
the  hymn  it  voices,  it  was  done  at  a  stroke,  and 
it  will  last  through  the  ages." 

"THE  MORNING  LIGHT  IS  BREAKING." 

Not  far  behind  Dr.  Heber's  chef-d'oeuvre  in 
lyric  merit  is  the  still  more  famous  missionary 
hymn  of  Dr.  S.  F.  Smith,  author  of  "My  Country, 
*Tis  of  Thee."  Another  missionary  hymn  of  his 
which  is  widely  used  is — 


l8o  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Yes,  my  native  land,  I  love  thee, 
All  thy  scenes,  I  love  them  well. 
Friends,  connections,  happy  country, 
Can  I  bid  you  all  farewell  ? 

Can  I  leave  you 
Far  in  heathen  lands  to  dwell  ? 

Drs.  Nutter  and  Breed  speak  of  "The  Morning 
Light  is  Breaking,"  and  its  charm  as  a  hymn  of 
peace  and  promise,  and  intimate  that  it  has  "gone 
farther  and  been  more  frequently  sung  than  any 
other  missionary  hymn."  Besides  the  EngHsh, 
there  are  versions  of  it  in  four  Latin  nations,  the 
Italian,  Spanish,  Portuguese  and  French,  and 
oriental  translations  in  Chinese  and  several  East 
Indian  tongues  and  dialects,  as  v^^ell  as  one  in 
Swedish.  It  author  had  the  rare  felicity,  while  on 
a  visit  to  his  son,  a  missionary  in  Burmah,  of 
hearing  it  sung  by  native  Christians  in  their  lan- 
guage, and  of  being  welcomed  with  an  ovation 
when  they  knew  who  he  was. 

The  morning  light  is  breakingl 

The  darkness  disappears; 
The  sons  of  earth  are  waking 

To  penitential  tears; 
Each  breeze  that  sweeps  the  ocean 

Brings  tidings  from  afar. 
Of  nations  in  commotion. 

Prepared  for  Zion's  war. 

Rich  dews  of  grace  come  o'er  us 

In  many  a  gentle  shower. 
And  brighter  scenes  before  us 

Are  opening  every  hour. 


MISSIONARY   HYMNS.  l8l 

Each  cry  to  heaven  going 

Abundant  answer  brings, 
And  heavenly  gales  are  blowing 

With  peace  upon  their  wings. 

%     :):     4c     *     >»:     He 

Blest  river  of  Salvation, 

Pursue  thy  onward  way; 
Flow  thou  to  every  nation, 

Nor  in  thy  richness  stay. 
Stay  not  till  all  the  lowly 

Triumphant  reach  their  home; 
Stay  not  till  all  the  holy 

Proclaim,  "The  Lord  is  cornel'* 

Samuel  Francis  Smith,  D.D.,  was  born  in 
Boston  in  1808,  and  educated  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity ( 1 825-1 829) .  He  prepared  for  the  ministry, 
and  was  pastor  of  Baptist  churches  at  Waterville, 
Me.,  and  Newton,  Mass.,  before  entering  the 
service  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  union 
as  editor  of  its  Missionary  Magazine. 

He  was  a  scholarly  and  graceful  writer,  both  in 
verse  and  prose,  and  besides  his  editorial  work, 
he  was  frequently  an  invited  participant  or  guest 
of  honor  on  public  occasions,  owing  to  his  fame 
as  author  of  the  national  hymn.  His  pure  and  gentle 
character  made  him  everywhere  beloved  and 
reverenced,  and  to  know  him  intimately  in  his 
happy  old  age  was  a  benediction.  He  died  sud- 
denly and  painlessly  in  his  seat  on  a  railway  train, 
November  16,  1895  in  his  eighty-eighth  year. 

Dr.  Smith  wrote  twenty-six  hymns  now  more  or 


l82  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

less  in  use  in  church  worship,  and  eight  for  Sab- 
bath school  collections. 

THE    TUNE. 

"Millennial  Dawn"  is  the  title  given  it  by  a  Bos- 
ton compiler,  about  1844,  but  since  the  music  and 
hymn  became  *'one  and  indivisable''  it  has  been 
named  "Webb,"  and  popularly  known  as  "Morn- 
ing Light"  or  oftener  still  by  its  first  hymn-line, 
"The  morning  light  is  breaking." 

George  James  Webb  was  born  near  Salisbury, 
Wiltshire,  Eng.,  June  24,  1803.  He  studied  music 
in  Salisbury  and  for  several  years  played  the 
organ  at  Falmouth  Church.  When  still  a  young 
man  (1830),  he  came  to  the  United  States,  and 
settled  in  Boston  where  he  was  long  the  leading 
organist  and  music  teacher  of  the  city.  He  was 
associate  director  of  the  Boston  Academy  of  Music 
with  Lowell  Mason,  and  joint  author  and  editor 
with  him  of  several  church-music  collections.  Died 
in  Orange,  N.  J.,  Nov.  7,  1887. 

Dr.  Webb's  own  account  of  the  tune  "Millen- 
nial Dawn"  states  that  he  wrote  it  at  sea  while  on 
his  way  to  America — and  to  secular  words  and 
that  he  had  no  idea  who  first  adapted  it  to  the 
hymn,  nor  when. 

"IF  I  WERE  A  VOICE,  A  PERSUASIVE  VOICE." 

This  animating  lyric  was  written  by  Charles 
Mackay.  Sung  by  a  good  vocalist,  the  fine  solo 
air  composed  (with  its  organ  chords)  by  L  B. 
Woodbury,  is  still  a  feature  in  some  missionary 
meetings,  especially  the  fourth  stanza — 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  183 

If  I  were  a  voice,  an  immortal  voice, 

I  would  fly  the  earth  around: 
And  wherever  man  to  his  idols  bowed, 
I'd  publish  in  notes  both  long  and  loud 

The  Gospel's  joyful  sound. 
1  would  fly,  I  would  fly,  on  the  wings  of  day, 
Proclaiming  peace  on  my  world-wide  way, 
Bidding  the  saddened  earth  rejoice — 
If  I  were  a  voice,  an  immortal  voice, 

I  would  fly,  I  would  fly, 
I  would  fly  on  the  wings  of  day. 

Charles  Mackay,  the  poet,  was  born  in  Perth, 
Scotland,  1814,  and  educated  in  London  and 
Brussels;  was  engaged  in  editorial  work  on  the 
London  Morning  Chronicle  and  Glasgow  Argus, 
and  during  the  Corn  Law  agitation  wrote  popular 
songs,  notably  "The  Voice  of  the  Crowd"  and 
"There's  a  Good  Time  Coming,"  which  (like  the 
far  inferior  poetry  of  Ebenezer  Elliot)  won  the  last- 
ing love  of  the  masses  for  a  superior  man  who  could 
be  "The  People's  Singer  and  Friend."  He  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1857  as  a  lecturer,  and 
again  in  1862,  remaining  three  years  as  war 
correspondent  of  the  London  Times.  Glasgow 
University  made  him  LL.D.  in  1847.  His  numer- 
ous songs  and  poems  were  collected  in  a  London 
edition.    Died  Dec.  24,  1889. 

Isaac  Baker  Woodbury  was  born  in  Beverly, 
Mass.,  1819,  and  rose  from  the  station  of  a  black- 
smith's apprentice  to  be  a  tone-teacher  in  the 
church.    He  educated  himself  in  Europe,  returned 


184         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

and  sang  his  life  songs,  and  died  in  1858  at  the 
age  of  thirty-nine. 

A  tune  preferred  by  many  as  the  finer  music  is 
the  one  written  to  the  words  by  Mr.  Sankey, 
Sacred  Songs,  No.  2. 

"SPEED  AWAY!    SPEED  AWAY!" 

This  inspiriting  song  of  farewell  to  departing 
missionaries  was  written  in  1890  to  Woodbury's 
appropriate  popular  melody  by  Fanny  J.  Crosby, 
at  the  request  of  Ira  D.  Sankey.  The  key-word 
and  refrain  are  adapted  from  the  original  song  by 
Woodbur}'  (1848),  but  in  substance  and  lan- 
guage the  three  hymn-stanzas  are  the  new  and 
independent  work  of  this  later  writer. 

Speed  away!  speed  away  on  your  mission  of  light, 

To  the  lands  that  are  lying  in  darkness  and  night; 

*Tis  the  Master's  command;   go  ye  forth  in  His  name, 

The  wonderful  gospel  of  Jesus  proclaim; 

Take  your  lives  in  your  hand,  to  the  work  while  'tis  day, 

Speed  away!  speed  away!  speed  away! 

Speed  away,  speed  away  with  the  life-giving  Word, 
To  the  nations  that  know  not  the  voice  of  the  Lord; 
Take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  fly  o'er  the  wave, 
In  the  strength  of  your  Master  the  lost  ones  to  save; 
He  is  calling  once  more,  not  a  moment's  delay, 
Speed  away!  speed  away!  speed  away! 

Speed  away,  speed  away  with  the  message  of  rest. 
To  the  souls  by  the  tempter  in  bondage  oppressed; 
For  the  Saviour  has  purchased  their  ransom  from  sin, 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  185 

And  the  banquet  is  ready.     O  gather  them  in; 

To  the  rescue  make  haste,  there's  no  time  for  delay, 

Speed  awayl  speed  away!  speed  away! 

"ONWARD  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIERS  I" 


Rev.  Sabine  Baring-Gould,  the  author  of  this 
rousing  hymn  of  Christian  warfare,  became,  Hke 
John  Henry  Newman,  a  Roman  CathoHc  writer  and 
priest.  He  was  born  at  Exeter,  Eng.,  Jan  28,  1834. 
Educated  at  Clare  College,  Cambridge,  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  church,  and  was  appointed 
Rector  of  East  Mersea,  Essex,  in  1871.  He  was 
the  author  of  several  hymns,  original  and  trans- 
lated, and  introduced  into  England  from  Flanders, 
numbers  of  carols  with  charming  old  Christmas 
music.  The  "  Christian  Soldiers  "  hymn  is  one  of  his 
(original)  processionals,  and  the  most  inspiring. 

Onward,  Christian  soldiers, 

Marching  as  to  war, 
With  the  cross  of  Jesus 

Going  on  before. 
Christ  the  Royal  Master 
Leads  against  the  foe; 
Forward  into  battle. 

See,  His  banners  go! 

Onward,  Christian  soldiers,  etc. 

He    :):    ^    :(:    jK    4: 

Like  a  mighty  army 

Moves  the  Church  of  God; 
Brothers,  we  are  treading 

Where  the  saints  have  trod; 


l86  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

We  are  not  divided, 

All  one  body  we. 
One  in  hope,  in  doctrine, 

One  in  charity. 

THE   TUNE, 

Sir  Arthur  Seymour  Sullivan,  Doctor  of  Music, 
who  wrote  the  melody  for  this  hymn,  was  born  in 
London,  May  13,  1842.  He  gained  the  Men- 
delssohn Scholarship  at  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Music,  and  also  at  the  Conservatory  of  Leipsic. 
He  was  a  fertile  genius,  and  his  compositions  in- 
cluded operettas,  symphonies,  overtures,  anthems, 
hymn-tunes,  an  oratorio  ("The  Prodigal  Son"), 
and  almost  every  variety  of  tone  production,  vocal 
and  instrumental.  Queen  Victoria  knighted  him 
in   1883. 

The  grand  rhythm  of  "Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers" — hymn  and  tune — is  irresistible  whether 
in  band  march  or  congregational  worship.  Sir 
Arthur  died  in  London,  November  22,  1900. 

"O  CHURCH  ARISE  AND  SING." 


Designed  originally  for  children's  voices,  the 
hymn  of  five  stanzas  beginning  with  this  line  was 
written  by  Hezekiah  Butterworth,  author  of  the 
Story  of  the  Hymns  (1875),  Story  oft  he  Tunes 
(1890),  and  many  popular  books  of  historic 
interest  for  the  young,  the  most  widely  read  of 
which  is  Zigzag  Journeys  in  Many  Lands,     He 


MISSIONARY    HYMNS.  187 

also  composed  and  published  many  poems  and 
hymns.  He  was  born  in  Warren,  R.  I.,  Dec.  22, 
1839,  and  for  twenty-five  years  was  connected 
with  the  Youth's  Companion  as  regular  contributor 
and  member  of  its  editorial  staflF.  He  died  in 
Warren,  R.  I.,  Sept.  5,  1905. 

The  hymn  "O  Church,  arise"  was  sung  in 
Mason's  tune  of  "Dort''  until  Prof.  Case  wrote  a 
melody  for  it,  when  it  took  the  name  of  the  "Con- 
vention Hymn." 

Professor  Charles  CHnton  Case,  music  composer 
and  teacher,  was  born  in  Linesville,  Pa.,  June  6, 
1843.  Was  a  pupil  of  George  F.  Root  and  pursued 
musical  study  in  Chicago,  111.,  Ashland,  O.,  and 
South  Bend,  Ind.  He  was  associated  with  Root, 
McGranahan,  and  others  in  making  secular  and 
church  music  books,  and  later  with  D.  L.  Moody 
in  evangelical  work. 

As  author  and  compiler  he  has  pubHshed  numer- 
ous works,  among  them  Church  Anthems,  the  Har- 
vest Song  and  Case^s  Chorus  Collection. 

O  Church!  arise  and  sing 
The  triumphs  of  your  King, 

Whose  reign  is  love; 
Sing  your  enlarged  desires, 
That  conquering  faith  inspires, 
Renew  your  signal  fires, 

And  forward  move! 

Beneath  the  glowing  arch 
The  ransomed  armies  march. 
We  follow  on; 


l88         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Lead  on,  O  cross  of  Light, 
From  conquering  height  to  height, 
And  add  new  victories  bright 
To  triumphs  wonl 

"THE  BANNER  OF  IMMANUELl" 

This  hymn,  set  to  music  and  copyrighted  in 
Buffalo  as  a  floating  waif  of  verse  by  an  unknown 
author,  and  used  in  Sunday-school  work,  first 
appeared  in  Dr.  F.  N.  Peloubet's  Select  Songs 
(Biglow  and  Main,  1884)  with  a  tune  by  Rev. 
George  Phipps. 

The  hymn  was  written  by  Rev.  Theron  Brown, 
a  Baptist  minister,  who  was  pastor  (1859-1870)  of 
churches  in  South  Framingham  and  Canton,  Mass. 
He  was  born  in  Willimantic,  Ct.,  April  29,  1832. 

Retired  from  pastoral  work,  owing  to  vocal 
disability,  he  has  held  contributory  and  editorial 
relations  with  the  Youth's  Companion  for  more 
than  forty  years,  for  the  last  twenty  years  a  member 
of  the  office  staff. 

Between  1880  and  1890  he  contributed  hymns 
more  or  less  regularly  to  the  quartet  and  anti- 
phonal  chorus  service  at  the  Ruggles  St.  Church, 
Boston,  the  "  Banner  of  Immanuel "  being  one  of  the 
number.  The  Blount  Family,  Nameless  Women  of 
the  Bible,  Life  Songs  (a  volume  of  poems),  and  sev- 
eral books  for  boys,  are  among  his  published  works. 

The  banner  of  Immanuel!  beneath  its  glorious  folds 

For  life  or  death  to  serve  and  fight  we  pledge  our  loyal  souls. 


MISSIONARY   HYMNS.  189 

No  other  flag  such  honor  boasts,  or  bears  so  proud  a  name, 
And  far  its  red-cross  signal  flies  as  flies  the  hghtning's  flame. 

:|c     :(c     *     He     *     * 

Salvation  by  the  blood  of  Christ!  the  shouts  of  triumph  ring; 
No  other  watchword  leads  the  host  that  serves  so  grand  a  King, 
Then  rally,  soldiers  of  the  Cross!    Keep  every  fold  unfurled, 
And  by  Redemption's  holy  sign  we'll  conquer  all  the  world. 

The  Rev.  George  Phipps,  composer  of  the  tune, 
'Immanuers  Banner,"  was  born  in  Franklin, 
Mass.,  Dec.  ii,  1838,  was  graduated  at  Amherst 
College,  1862,  and  at  Andover  Theological  Semi- 
nary, 1865.  Settled  as  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church  in  Wellesley,  Mass.,  ten  years,  and  at 
Newton  Highlands  fifteen  years. 

He  has  written  many  Sunday-school  melodies, 
notably  the  music  to  "My  Saviour  Keeps  Me  Com- 
pany." 


I 


CHAPTER  V. 


HYMNS  OF  SUFFERING  AND 
TRUST. 


One  inspiring  chapter  in  the  compensations  of 
life  is  the  record  of  immortal  verses  that  were 
sorrow-born.  It  tells  us  in  the  most  affecting  way 
how  affliction  refines  the  spirit  and  "the  agonizing 
throes  of  thought  bring  forth  glory/*  Often  a  broken 
life  has  produced  a  single  hymn.  It  took  the  long 
living  under  trial  to  shape  the  supreme  experience. 

The  anguish  of  the  singer 

Made  the  sweetness  of  the  song. 

Indeed,  if  there  had  been  no  sorrow  there  would 
have  been  no  song. 

**MY  LORD,  HOW  FULL  OF  SWEET  CONTENT." 

Jeanne  M.  B.  de  la  Mothe — known  always  as 
Madame  Guyon —  the  lady  who  wrote  these  words 
in  exile,  probably  sang  more  *' songs  in  the  night" 
than  any  hymn-writer  outside  of  the  Dark  Ages. 
She  was  born  at  Montargis,  France,  in  1648,  and 

190 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  I9I 

died  in  her  seventieth  year,  1771,  in  the  ancient 
city  of  Blois,  on  the  Loire. 

A  convent-educated  girl  of  high  family,  a  wife  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  and  a  v^idow  at  twenty-eight, 
her  early  piety,  ridiculed  in  the  dazzling  but  corrupt 
society  of  Louis  XIV 's  time,  blossomed  through 
a  long  life  in  religious  ministries  and  flowers  of 
sacred  poetry. 

She  became  a  mystic,  and  her  book  Spiritual 
Torrents  indicates  the  impetuous  ardors  of  her 
soul.  It  was  the  way  Divine  Love  came  to  her. 
She  was  the  incarnation  of  the  spiritualized  Book 
of  Canticles.  An  induction  to  these  intense  sub- 
jective visions  and  raptures  had  been  the  remark 
of  a  pious  old  Franciscan  father,  *'Seek  God  in 
your  heart,  and  you  will  find  Him." 

She  began  to  teach  as  well  as  enjoy  the  new 
light  so  different  from  the  glitter  of  the  traditional 
worship.  But  her  "aggressive  holiness'*  was  obnox- 
ious to  the  established  Church.  "Quietism"  was 
the  brand  set  upon  her  written  works  and  the 
offense  that  was  punished  in  her  person.  Bossuet, 
the  king  of  preachers,  was  her  great  adversary. 
The  saintly  Fenelon  was  her  friend,  but  he  could 
not  shield  her.  She  was  shut  up  like  a  lunatic  in 
prison  after  prison,  till,  after  four  years  of  dungeon 
life  in  the  Bastile,  expecting  every  hour  to  be  ex- 
ecuted for  heresy,  she  was  banished  to  a  distant 
province  to  end  her  days. 

Question  as  we  may  the  usefulness  of  her  pie- 
tistic  books,  the  visions  of  her  excessively  exalted 


192  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

moods,  and  the  passionate,  almost  erotic  phraseol- 
ogy of  her  Contemplations,  Madame  Guyon  has 
held  the  world's  admiration  for  her  martyr  spirit, 
and  even  her  love-flights  of  devotion  in  poetry  and 
prose  do  not  conceal  the  angel  that  walked  in  the 
flame. 

Today,  when  religious  persecution  is  unknown, 
we  can  but  dimly  understand  the  perfect  triumph 
of  her  superior  soul  under  suffering  and  the  trans- 
ports of  her  utter  absorption  in  God  that  could 
make  the  stones  of  her  dungeon  "look  like  jewels." 
When  we  emulate  a  faith  like  hers — with  all  the 
weight  of  absolute  certainty  in  it — we  can  sing  her 
hymn: 

My  Lord,  how  full  of  sweet  content 

I  pass  my  years  of  banishment. 

Where'er  I  dwell,  I  dwell  with  Thee, 

In  heaven  or  earth,  or  on  the  sea. 

To  me  remains  nor  place  nor  time: 
My  country  is  in  every  clime; 
I  can  be  calm  and  free  from  care 
On  any  shore,  since  God  is  there. 

And  could  a  dearer  vade  mecum  enrich  a  Chris- 
tian's  outfit  than  these  lines  treasured  in  memory  ? 

While  place  we  seek  or  place  we  shun, 
The  soul  finds  happiness  in  none; 
But,  with  a  God  to  guide  our  way, 
*Tis  equal  joy  to  go  or  stay. 

Cowper,  and  also  Dr.  Thomas  Upham,  translated 
(from  the  French)  the  religious  poems  of  Madame 
Guyon.     This  hymn  is  Cowper 's  translation. 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  I93 

THE  TUNE. 

A  gentle  and  sympathetic  melody  entitled  "Al- 
sace" well  represents  the  temper  of  the  words — 
and  in  name  links  the  nationalities  of  writer  and 
composer.  It  is  a  choral  arranged  from  a  sonata 
of  the  great  Ludwig  von  Beethoven,  born  in 
Bonn,  Germany,  1770,  and  died  in  Vienna,  Mar. 
1827.  Like  the  author  of  the  hymn  he  felt  the 
hand  of  affliction,  becoming  totally  deaf  soon  after 
his  fortieth  year.  But,  in  spite  of  the  privation,  he 
kept  on  writing  sublime  and  exquisite  strains 
that  only  his  soul  could  hear.  His  fame  rests  upon 
his  oratorio,  "The  Mount  of  Olives,"  the  opera 
of  "Fidelio"  and  his  nine  wonderful  "Sympho- 
nies." 

"NO  CHANGE  IN  TIME  SHALL  EVER  SHOCK." 

Altered  to  common  metre  from  the  awkward 
long  metre  of  Tate  and  Brady,  the  three  or  four 
stanzas  found  in  earlier  hymnals  are  part  of  their 
version  (probably  Tate's)  of  the  31st  Psalm — 
and  it  is  worth  calling  to  mind  here  that  there  is  no 
hymn  treasury  so  rich  in  tuneful  faith  and  reliance 
upon  God  in  trouble  as  the  Book  of  Psalms.  This 
feeling  of  the  Hebrew  poet  was  never  better  ex- 
pressed (we  might  say,  translated)  in  English  than 
by  the  writer  of  this  single  verse — 

No  change  of  time  shall  ever  shock 
My  trust,  O  Lord,  in  Thee, 


194         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

For  Thou  hast  always  been  my  Rock, 
A  sure  defense  to  me. 


THE  TUNE. 

The  sweet,  tranquil  choral  long  ago  wedded 
to  this  hymn  is  lost  from  the  church  collections, 
and  its  very  name  forgotten.  In  fact  the  hymn 
itself  is  now  seldom  seen.  If  it  ever  comes  back, 
old  "Dundee''  (Guillaume  Franc  1 500-1 570)  will 
sing  for  it,  or  some  new  composer  may  rise  up  to  put 
the  spirit  of  the  psalm  into  inspired  notes. 

"WHY    DO    WE    MOURN    DEPARTED    FRIENDS?" 

This  hymn  of  holy  comfort,  by  Dr.  Watts,  was 
long  associated  with  a  remarkable  tune  in  C 
minor,  "a  queer  medley  of  melody"  as  Lowell 
Mason  called  it,  still  familiar  to  many  old  people 
as  "China."  It  was  composed  by  Timothy  Swan 
when  he  was  about  twenty-six  years  of  age  (1784) 
and  published  in  1801  in  the  New  England  Har- 
mony. It  may  have  sounded  consolatory  to  mature 
mourners,  singers  and  hearers  in  the  days  when 
religious  emotion  habitually  took  a  sad  key,  but 
its  wild  and  thrilling  chords  made  children  weep. 
The  tune  is  long  out  of  use — though,  strange  to 
say,  one  of  the  most  recent  hymnals  prints  the 
hymn  with  a  new  minor  tune. 

Why  do  we  mourn  departed  friends, 
Or  shake  at  death's  alarms  ? 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  I95 

*Tis  but  the  voice  that  Jesus  sends 
To  call  them  to  His  arms. 

Are  we  not  tending  upward  too 

As  fast  as  time  can  move  ? 
Nor  should  we  wish  the  hours  more  slow 

To  keep  us  from  our  Love. 

The  graves  of  all  His  saints  He  blessed 

And  softened  every  bed: 
Where  should  the  dying  members  rest 

But  with  their  dying  Head  ? 

Timothy  Swan  was  born  in  Worcester,  Mass., 
July  23,  1758,  and  died  in  Suffield,  Ct.,  July  23, 
1842.  He  was  a  self-taught  musician,  his  only 
"course  of  study*'  lasting  three  weeks, — in  a  country 
singing  school  at  Groton.  When  sixteen  years 
old  he  went  to  Northfield,  Mass.,  and  learned  the 
hatter's  trade,  and  while  at  work  began  to  practice 
making  psalm-tunes.  **  Montague,"  in  two  parts, 
was  his  first  achievement.  From  that  time  for 
thirty  years,  mostly  spent  in  Suffield,  Ct.,  he  wrote 
and  taught  music  while  supporting  himself  by  his 
trade.  Many  of  his  tunes  were  published  by  him- 
self, and  had  a  w^de  currency  a  century  ago. 

Swan  was  a  genius  in  his  way,  and  it  was  a  true 
comment  on  his  work  that  "his  tunes  were  re- 
markable for  their  originality  as  well  as  singularity 
— unlike  any  other  melodies."  "China,"  his 
masterpiece,  will  be  long  kept  track  of  as  a  curio, 
and  preserved  in  replicates  of  old  psalmody  to  illus- 
trate self-culture  in  the  art  of  song.     But  the  major 


196         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

mode  will  replace  the  minor  when  tender  voices 
on  burial  days  sing — 

Why  do  we  mourn  departed  friends  ? 

Another  hymn  of  Watts, — 

God  is  the  refuge  of  His  saints 

When  storms  of  sharp  distress  invade, 

— sung  to  Lowell  Mason's  liquid  tune  of  "Ward," 
and  the  priceless  stanza, — 

Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 
Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 

doubly  prove  the  claim  of  the  Southampton  bard 
to  a  foremost  place  with  the  song-preachers  of 
Christian  trust. 

The  psalm  (Amsterdam  version),  **God  is  the 
refuge,"  etc.,  is  said  to  have  been  sung  by  John 
Howland  in  the  shallop  of  the  Mayflower  when 
an  attempt  was  made  to  effect  a  landing  in  spite 
of  tempestuous  weather.  A  tradition  of  this  had 
doubtless  reached  Mrs.  Hemans  when  she  wrote — 

Amid  the  storm  they  sang,  etc. 

"FATHER,  WHATETR  OF  EARTHLY  BLISS." 

This  hymn  had  originally  ten  stanzas,  of  which 
the  three  usually  sung  are  the  three  last.  The 
above  line  is  the  first  of  the  eighth  stanza,  altered 
from — 

And  O,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss. 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  I97 

Probably  for  more  than  a  century  the  famlHar 
surname  "Steele"  attached  to  this  and  many  other 
hymns  in  the  hymn-books  conveyed  to  the  general 
public  no  hint  of  a  mind  and  hand  more  feminine 
than  Cowper's  or  Montgomery's.  Even  intelligent 
people,  v^ho  had  chanced  upon  sundry  copies  of 
The  Spectator^  somehow  fell  into  the  habit  of 
putting  "Steele"  and  "Addison"  in  the  same 
category  of  hymn  names,  and  Sir  Richard  Steele 
got  a  credit  he  never  sought.  But  since  stories 
of  the  hymns  began  to  be  published — and  made 
the  subject  of  evening  talks  in  church  conference 
rooms — many  have  learned  v^hat  "Steele"  in  the 
hymn-book  means.  It  introduces  us  nov7  to  a 
very  retiring  English  lady,  Miss  Anna  Steele,  a 
Baptist  minister's  daughter.  She  v^as  born  in  1706, 
at  Broughton,  Hampshire,  in  her  father's  parson- 
age, and  in  her  father's  parsonage  she  spent  her 
life,  dying  there  Nov.  1778. 

She  was  many  years  a  severe  sufferer  from 
bodily  illness,  and  a  lasting  grief  of  mind  and  heart 
was  the  loss  of  her  intended  husband,  who  was 
drowned  the  day  before  their  appointed  wedding. 
It  is  said  that  this  hymn  was  written  under  the 
recent  sorrow  of  that  loss. 

In  1760  and  1780  volumes  of  her  works  in 
verse  and  prose  were  pubHshed  with  her  name, 
"Theodosia,"  and  reprinted  in  1863  as  *' Hymns, 
Psalms,  and  Poems,  by  Anna  Steele."  The  hymn 
"Father,  whate'er,"  etc.,  is  estimated  as  her  best, 
though  some  rank  it  only  next  to  her — 


198  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Dear  Refuge  of  my  weary  soul. 

Other  more  or  less  well-known  hymns  of  this 
devout  and  loving  writer  are, — 

Lord,  how  mysterious  are  Thy  ways, 
O  Thou  whose  tender  mercy  hears, 
Thou  lovely  Source  of  true  delight, 
Alas,  what  hourly  dangers  rise, 
So  fades  the  lovely  blooming  flower, 

— to  a  stanza  of  which  latter  the  world  owes  the 
tune  of  "Federal  St." 

THE    TUNE. 

The  true  musical  mate  of  the  sweet  hymn- 
prayer  came  to  it  probably  about  the  time  of  its 
hundredth  birthday;  but  it  came  to  stay.  Lowell 
Mason's  "Naomi"  blends  with  it  like  a  symphony 
of  nature. 

Father,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss 

Thy  sovereign  will  denies, 
Accepted  at  Thy  throne  of  grace 

Let  this  petition  rise. 

Give  me  a  calm  and  thankful  heart 

From  every  murmer  free, 
The  blessings  of  Thy  grace  impart, 

And  make  me  live  to  Thee. 

"GUIDE  ME,  O  THOU  GREAT  JEHOVAH." 

This  great  hymn  has  a  double  claim  on  the  name 
of  Williams.    We  do  not  have  it  exactly  in  its  orig- 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  I99 

inal  form  as  written  by  Rev.  William  Williams, 
*'The  Watts  of  Wales,"  familiarly  known  as  "Wil- 
liams of  Pantycelyn."  His  fellow  countryman  and 
contemporary,  Rev.  Peter  Williams,  or  "Williams 
of  Carmarthen,"  who  translated  it  from  Welsh 
into  English  (1771)  made  alterations  and  substi- 
tutions in  the  hymn  with  the  result  that  only  the 
first  stanza  belongs  indisputably  to  Williams  of 
Pantycelyn,  the  others  being  Peter's  own  or  the 
joint  production  of  the  two.  As  the  former,  how- 
ever, is  said  to  have  approved  and  revised  the  Eng- 
lish translation,  we  may  suppose  the  hymn  retained 
the  name  of  its  original  author  by  mutual  consent. 

Guide  me,  O  Thou  Great  Jehovah, 
Pilgrim  through  this  barren  land. 

I  am  weak,  but  Thou  art  mighty, 
Hold  me  by  Thy  powerful  hand; 

Bread  of  heaven. 
Feed  me  till  I  want  no  more. 

Open  Thou  the  crystal  Fountain 

Whence  the  healing  streams  do  flow. 

Let  the  fiery  cloudy  pillar 

Lead  me  all  my  journey  through. 

Strong  Deliverer, 
Be  Thou  still  my  Strength  and  Shield  1 

When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan 

Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside; 
Death  of  death,  and  hell's  destruction, 

Land  me  safe  on  Canaan's  side. 
Songs  of  praises 

I  will  ever  give  to  Thee. 


200  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Musing  on  my  habitation, 

Musing  on  my  heavenly  home, 
Fills  my  heart  with  holy  longing; 

Come,  Lord  Jesus,  quickly  come. 
Vanity  is  all  I  see. 

Lord,  I  long  to  be  with  Thee. 

The  second  and  third  stanzas  have  not  escaped 
the  touch  of  critical  editors.    The  line, — 

Whence  the  healing  streams  do  flow 

— becomes, — 

Whence  the  healing  waters  flow, 

— ^with  which  alteration  there  is  no  fault  to  find 
except  that  it  is  needless,  and  obliterates  the  an- 
cient mark.  But  the  third  stanza,  besides  losing  its 
second  line  for — 

Bid  the  swelling  stream  divide, 

— is  weakened  by  a  more  needless  substitution. 
Its  original  third  line  — 

Death  of  death,  and  hell's  destruction, 

— is  exchanged  for  the  commonplace  — 

Bear  me  through  the  swelling  current. 

That  is  modern  taste;  but  when  modern  taste 
meddles  with  a  stalwart  old  hymn  it  is  sometimes 
more  nice  than  wise. 

It  is  probable  that  the  famous  hymn  was  sung 
in  America  before  it  obtained  a  European  repu- 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  201 

tation.  Its  history  is  as  follows:  Lady  Hunting- 
don having  read  one  of  Williams'  books  with  much 
spiritual  satisfaction,  persuaded  him  to  prepare 
a  collection  of  hymns,  to  be  called  the  Gloria  in 
Excelsis,  for  special  use  in  Mr.  Whitefield's 
Orphans'  House  in  America.  In  this  collection 
appeared  the  original  stanzas  of  "Guide  me,  O 
Thou  Great  Jehovah."  In  1 774,  two  years  after  its 
publication  in  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  it  was  repub- 
lished in  England  in  Mr.  Whitefield's  collections  of 
hymns. 

The  Rev.  Peter  Williams  was  born  in  the  parish 
of  Llansadurnen,  Carmarthenshire,  Wales,  Jan. 
7,  1722,  and  was  educated  in  Carmarthen  College. 
He  was  ordained  in  the  Established  Church  and 
appointed  to  a  curacy,  but  in  1748  joined  the 
Calvinistic  Methodists.  He  was  an  Independent 
of  the  Independents  however,  and  preached  where 
ever  he  chose.  Finally  he  built  a  chapel  for  him- 
self on  his  paternal  estate,  where  he  ministered  dur- 
ing the  rest  of  his  life.    Died  Aug,  8,  1796. 

THE  TUNE. 

If  "Sardius,"  the  splendid  old  choral  (triple 
time)  everywhere  identified  with  the  hymn,  be  not 
its  original  music,  its  age  at  least  entitles  it  to  its 
high  partnership.  The  Sacred  Lyre  (1858)  ascribes 
it  to  Ludovic  Nicholson,  of  Paisley,  Scotland, 
violinist  and  amateur  composer,  born  1770;  died 
1852;  but  this  is  not  beyond  dispute.     Of  several 


202         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

names  one  more  confidently  referred  to  as  its  author 
is  F.  H.  Barthelemon  (i 741-1808). 

"PEACE,  TROUBLED  SOUL'* 

Is  the  brave  faith-song  of  a  Christian  under  deep 
but   blameless   humiliation — Sir  Walter   Shirley.* 

THE    TUNE. 

Apparently  the  favorite  in  several  (not  recent) 
hymnals  for  the  subdued  but  confident  spirit  of 
this  hymn  of  Sir  Walter  Shirley  is  Mazzinghi's 
"Palestine,"  appearing  v^ith  various  tone-signatures 
in  different  books.  The  treble  and  alto  lead  in  a 
sweet  duet  w^ith  slur-flights,  like  an  obligato  to  the 
bass  and  tenor.  The  melody  needs  rich  and  cultured 
voices,  and  is  unsuited  for  congregational  singing. 
So,  perhaps,  is  the  hymn  itself. 

Peace,  troubled  soul,  whose  plaintive  moan 
Hath  taught  these  rocks  the  notes  of  woe; 

Cease  thy  complaint — suppress  thy  groan. 
And  let  thy  tears  forget  to  flow; 

Behold  the  precious  balm  is  found. 

To  lull  thy  pain,  to  heal  thy  wound. 

Come,  freely  come,  by  sin  oppressed, 

Unburden  here  thy  weighty  load; 
Here  find  thy  refuge  and  thy  rest, 

And  trust  the  mercy  of  thy  God. 
Thy  God's  thy  Saviour — glorious  wordl 
For  ever  love  and  praise  the  Lord. 


♦Sec  page  127 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  2O3 

As  now  sung  the  word  "scenes"  Is  substituted 
for  "rocks"  In  the  second  line,  eliminating  the 
poetry.  Rocks  give  an  echo;  and  the  vivid  thought 
in  the  author's  mind  Is  flattened  to  an  unmeaning 
generality. 

Count  Joseph  Mazzlnghl,  son  of  Tommasso 
Mazzlnghl,  a  Corslcan  musician,  was  born  in  Lon- 
don, 1765.  He  was  a  boy  of  precocious  talent. 
When  only  ten  years  of  age  he  was  appointed  or- 
ganist of  the  Portuguese  Chapel,  and  when  nineteen 
years  old  was  made  musical  director  and  composer 
at  the  King's  Theatre.  For  many  years  he  held  the 
honor  of  Music  Master  to  the  Princess  of  Wales, 
afterwards  Queen  Caroline,  and  his  compositions 
were  almost  numberless.  Some  of  his  songs  and 
glees  that  caught  the  popular  fancy  are  still  remem- 
bered in  England,  as  " The  Turnpike  Gate, "  " The 
Exile,"  and  the  rustic  duet,  "When  a  Little  Farm 
We  Keep." 

Of  sacred  music  he  composed  only  one  mass  and 
six  hymn-tunes,  of  which  latter  "Palestine"  is  one. 
Mazzlnghl  died  in  1844,  in  his  eightieth  year. 

**BEGONE    UNBELIEF,    MY    SAVIOUR    IS     NEAR." 

The  Rev.  John  Newton,  author  of  this  hymn, 
was  born  in  London,  July  24,  1725.  The  son  of  a 
sea-captain,  he  became  a  sailor,  and  for  several 
years  led  a  reckless  life.  Converted,  he  took  holy 
orders  and  was  settled  as  curate  of  Olney,  Buck- 
inghamshire, and  afterwards  Rector  of  St.  Mary  of 


204         STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Woolnoth,  London,  where  he  died,  Dec.  21,  1807. 
It  was  while  Hving  at  Olney  that  he  and  Cowper 
wrote  and  pubHshed  the  Olney  Hymns.  His  de- 
fiance to  doubt  in  these  Hnes  is  the  blunt  utterance 
of  a  sailor  rather  than  the  song  of  a  poet: 

Begone,  unbelief,  my  Saviour  is  near. 

And  for  my  relief  will  surely  appear. 

By  prayer  let  me  wrestle  and  He  will  perform; 

With  Christ  in  the  vessel  I  smile  at  the  storm. 

THE    TUNE 

Old  " Hanover,"  by  WilHam  Croft  (1677— 1 727), 
carries  Newton's  hymn  successfully,  but  Joseph 
Haydn's  choral  of  "Lyons"  is  more  familiar — and 
better  music. 

"Hanover"  often  accompanies  Charles  Wesley's 
lyric,— 

Ye  servants  of  God,  your  Master  proclaim. 

"HOW  FIRM  A  FOUNDATION." 


The  question  of  the  author  of  this  hymn  is  treat- 
ed at  length  in  Dr.  Louis  F.  Benson's  Studies  of 
Familiar  Hymns.  The  utmost  that  need  to  be 
said  here  is  that  two  of  the  most  thorough  and 
indefatigable  hymn-chasers.  Dr.  John  Julian  and 
Rev.  H.  L.  Hastings,  working  independently  of 
each  other,  found  evidence  fixing  the  authorship 
with  strong  probability  upon  Robert  Keene,  a  pre- 
centor in  Dr.  John  Rippon's  church.  Dr.  Rippon 
was  pastor  of  a  Baptist  Church  in  London  from 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  205 

1773  to  1836,  and  in  1787  he  published  a  song- 
manual  called  A  Selection  of  Hymns  from  the  Best 
Authors,  etc.,  in  which  "How  Firm  a  Foundation" 
appears  as  a  new  piece,  with  the  signature  "  K — . " 
The  popularity  of  the  hymn  in  America  has  been 
remarkable,  and  promises  to  continue.  Indeed, 
there  are  few  more  reviving  or  more  spiritually 
helpful.  It  is  too  familiar  to  need  quotation.  But 
one  cannot  suppress  the  last  stanza,  with  its  power- 
ful and  aflFecting  emphasis  on  the  Divine  promise — 

The  soul  that  on  Jesus  has  leaned  for  repose. 

I  will  not,  I  will  not,  desert  to  his  foes; 

That  soul,  though  all  hell  should  endeavor  to  shake, 

I'll  never,  no  never,  no  never  forsake. 

THE    TUNE. 

The  grand  harmony  of  "  Portuguese  Hymn  "  has 
always  been  identified  with  this  song  of  trust. 

One  opinion  of  the  date  of  the  music  writes  it 
"about  1780."  Since  the  habit  of  crediting  it  to 
John  Reading  (1677-1764)  has  been  discontinued, 
it  has  been  in  several  hymnals  ascribed  to  Marco 
Portogallo  (Mark,  the  Portuguese),  a  musician  born 
in  Lisbon,  1763,  who  became  a  composer  of  operas 
in  Italy,  but  was  made  Chapel-Master  to  the  Port- 
uguese King.  In  1807,  when  Napoleon  invaded 
the  Peninsula  and  dethroned  the  royal  house  of 
Braganza,  Old  King  John  VI.  fled  to  Brazil  and 
took  Marco  with  him,  where  he  lived  till  1815,  but 
returned  and  died  in  Italy,  in  1830.  Such  is  the 
story,  and  it  is  all  true,  only  the  man's  name  was 


206  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Simao,  instead  of  Marco.  Grovels  Dictionary  ap- 
pends to  Simao's  biography  the  single  sentence, 
"His  brother  wrote  for  the  church.'*  That  the 
BraziHan  episode  may  have  been  connected  with 
this  brother's  history  by  a  confusion  of  names,  is 
imaginable,  but  it  is  not  known  that  the  brother's 
name  was  Marco. 

On  the  whole,  this  account  of  the  authorship  of 
the  "Portuguese  Hymn" — originally  written  for 
the  old  Christmas  church  song  "  Adeste  Fideles" — 
is  late  and  uncertain.  Heard  (perhaps  for  the  first 
time)  in  the  Portuguese  Chapel,  London,  it  was 
given  the  name  which  still  clings  to  it.  If  proofs 
of  its  Portuguese  origin  exist,  they  may  yet  be  found. 

"How  Firm  a  Foundation"  was  the  favorite  of 
Deborah  Jackson,  President  Andrew  Jackson's  be- 
loved wife,  and  on  his  death-bed  the  warrior  and 
statesman  called  for  it.  It  was  the  favorite  of  Gen. 
Robert  E.  Lee,  and  was  sung  at  his  funeral.  The 
American  love  and  familiar  preference  for  the  re- 
markable hymn  was  never  more  strikingly  illus- 
trated than  when  on  Christmas  Eve,  1898,  a  whole 
corps  of  the  United  States  army  Northern  and 
Southern,  encamped  on  the  Quemados  hills,  near 
Havana,  took  up  the  sacred  tune  and  words — 

"Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee,  O  be  not  dismayed." 

Lieut.  Col.  Curtis  Guild  (since  Governor  Guild 
of  Massachusetts)  related  the  story  in  the  Sunday 
School  Times  for  Dec.  7,  1901,  and  Dr.  Benson 
quotes  it  in  his  book. 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  20/ 

"WHILE  THEE  I  SEEK,  PROTECTING  POWER." 

Miss  Helen  Maria  Williams,  who  wrote  this  gen- 
tle hymn  of  confidence,  in  1786,  was  born  in  the 
north  of  England  in  1762.  When  but  a  girl  she 
won  reputation  by  her  brilliant  literary  talents  and 
a  mental  grasp  and  vigor  that  led  her,  like  Gail 
Hamilton,  "to  discuss  public  affairs,  besides  cloth- 
ing bright  fancies  and  devout  thoughts  in  graceful 
verse."  Most  of  her  life  was  spent  in  London, 
and  In  Paris,  where  she  died,  Dec.  14,  1827. 

While  Thee  I  seek,  Protecting  Power 

Be  my  vain  wishes  stilled, 
And  may  this  consecrated  hour 

With  better  hopes  be  filled: 

When  gladness  wings  my  favored  hour. 

Thy  love  my  thoughts  shall  fill, 
Resigned  where  storms  of  sorrow  lower 

My  soul  shall  meet  Thy  will. 

My  lifted  eye  without  a  tear 

The  gathering  storm  shall  see: 
My  steadfast  heart  shall  know  no  fear: 

My  heart  will  rest  on  Thee. 

THE    TUNES. 

Old  "  Norwich, "  from  Days  Psalter,  and  "  Simp- 
son," adapted  from  Louis  Spohr,  are  found  with 
the  hymn  in  several  later  manuals.  In  the  memor- 
ies of  older  worshipers  "Brattle-Street,'*  with  Its 
melodious  choral  and  duet  arranged  from  Pleyel 


208  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

by  Lowell  Mason,  is  Inseparable  from  Miss  Wil- 
liams' words;  but  modern  hymnals  have  dropped 
it,  probably  because  too  elaborate  for  average  con- 
gregational use. 

Ignaz  Joseph  Pleyel  was  born  June  i,  1757, 
at  Ruppersthal,  Lower  Austria.  He  was  the 
twenty- fourth  child  of  a  village  schoolmaster. 
His  early  taste  and  talent  for  music  procured 
him  friends  who  paid  for  his  education.  Haydn 
became  his  master,  and  long  afterwards  spoke  of 
him  as  his  best  and  dearest  pupil.  Pleyers  work 
— entirely  instrumental — was  much  admired  by 
Mozart. 

During  a  few  years  spent  in  Italy,  he  composed 
the  music  of  his  best-known  opera,  "Iphigenia  in 
Aulide,'*  and,  besides  the  thirtv-four  books  of  his 
symphonies  and  chamber-pieces,  the  results  of  his 
prolific  genius  make  a  list  too  long  to  enumerate. 
Most  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Paris,  where  he  founded 
the  (present)  house  of  Pleyel  and  Wolfe,  piano 
makers  and  sellers.  He  died  in  that  city,  Nov.  14, 
1831. 

'*COME    UNTO    ME." 

Come  unto  Me,  when  shadows  darkly  gather. 
When  the  sad  heart  is  weary  and  distressed, 
Seeking  for  comfort  from  your  heavenly  Father, 
Come  unto  Me,  and  I  will  give  you  rest. 

This  sweet  hymn,  by  Mrs.  Catherine  Esling,  is 
well  known  to  many  thousands  of  mourners,  as  also 
is  its  equally  sweet  tune  of  "Henley,"  by  Lowell 


HYMNS    OF   SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  2O9 

Mason.    Melody  and  words  melt  together  like  harp 
and  flute. 

Large  are  the  mansions  In  thy  Father's  dwelh'ng, 
Glad  are  the  homes  that  sorrows  never  dim, 
Sweet  are  the  harps  in  holy  music  swelling, 
Soft  are  the  tones  that  raise  the  heavenly  hymn. 

Mrs.  Catherine  Harbison  Waterman  Esling  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  Apr.  12,  1812.  A  writer  for 
many  years  under  her  maiden  name,  Waterman, 
she  married,  in  1840,  Capt.  George  Esling,  of  the 
Merchant  Marine,  and  lived  in  Rio  Janeiro  till  her 
widowhood,  in  1844. 

JOHN  WESLEY'S  HYMN. 

How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot. 
How  free  from  every  anxious  thought. 

These  are  the  opening  lines  of  "  John  Wesley*s 
Hymn,"  so  called  because  his  other  hymns  are 
mostly  translations,  and  because  of  all  his  own  it  is 
the  one  commonly  quoted  and  sung. 

John  Wesley,  the  second  son  in  the  famous 
Epworth  family  of  ministers,  was  a  man  who 
knew  how  to  endure  **  hardness  as  a  good  soldier 
of  Christ."  He  was  born  June  27,  1703,  and  stud- 
ied at  Charterhouse,  London,  and  at  Christ 
Church,  Oxford,  becoming  a  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College.  After  taking  holy  orders  he  went  as  a 
missionary  to  Georgia,  U.  S.,  in  1735,  and  on  his 
return  began  his  remarkable  work  in  England, 
preaching  a  more  spiritual  type  of  religion,  and 


210  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

awakening  the  whole  kingdom  with  his  revival 
fervor  and  his  brother's  kindHng  songs.  The  fol- 
lowing paragraph  from  his  itinerant  life,  gathered 
probably  from  a  page  of  his  own  journals,  gives 
a  glimpse  of  what  the  founder  of  the  great  Methodist 
denomination  did  and  suffered  while  carrying  his 
Evangelical  message  from  place  to  place. 

On  February  17,  1746,  when  days  were  short 
and  weather  far  from  favorable,  he  set  out  on 
horseback  from  Bristol  to  Newcastle,  a  distance  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred  miles.  The  journey 
occupied  ten  days.  Brooks  were  swollen,  and  in 
some  places  the  roads  were  impassble,  obliging  the 
itinerant  to  go  round  through  the  fields.  At  Al- 
drige  Heath,  in  Staffordshire,  the  rain  turned  to 
snow,  which  the  northerly  wind  drove  against 
him,  and  by  which  he  was  soon  crusted  over  from 
head  to  foot.  At  Leeds  the  mob  followed  him,  and 
pelted  him  with  whatever  came  to  hand.  He  ar- 
rived at  Newcastle,  February  26,  "free  from  every 
anxious  thought,"  and  "every  worldly  fear." 

How  lightly  he  regarded  hardship  and  moles- 
tation appears  from  his  verses — 

Whate'er  molests  or  troubles  life, 
When  past,  as  nothing  we  esteem, 
And  pain,  like  pleasure,  is  a  dream. 

And  that  he  actually  enjoys  the  heroic  freedom  of 
a  rough-rider  missionary  life  is  hinted  in  his  hymn- 
Confined  to  neither  court  nor  cell, 
His  soul  disdains  on  earth  to  dwell, 
He  only  sojourns  here. 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  211 

God  evidently  built  John  Wesley  fire-proof  and 
water-proof  with  a  view  to  precisely  what  he  was 
to  undertake  and  accomplish.  His  frame  was 
vigorous,  and  his  spirit  unconquerable.  Besides 
all  this  he  had  the  divine  gift  of  a  religious  faith 
that  could  move  mountains  and  a  confidence  in 
his  mission  that  became  a  second  nature.  No 
wonder  he  could  suflFer,  and  last.  The  brave 
young  man  at  thirty  was  the  brave  old  man  at 
nearly  ninety.    He  died  in  London,  March  2,  1791. 

Blest  with  the  scorn  of  finite  good, 
My  soul  is  lightened  of  its  load 

And  seeks  the  things  above. 

There  is  my  house  and  portion  fair; 

My  treasure  and  my  heart  are  there, 

And  my  abiding  home. 

For  me  my  elder  brethren  stay, 
And  angels  beckon  me  away, 

And  Jesus  bids  me  come. 

THE    TUNE. 

An  air  found  in  the  Revivalist  (1869),  in  sextuple 
time,  that  has  the  real  camp-meeting  swing, 
preserves  the  style  of  music  in  w^hich  the  hymn 
was  sung  by  the  circuit-preachers  and  their  con- 
gregations— ringing  out  the  autobiographical  verses 
with  special  unction.     The  favorite  was — 

No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess, 

No  cottage  in  this  wilderness; 

A  poor  wayfaring  man. 


212         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

I  lodge  awhile  in  tents  below, 
Or  gladly  wander  to  and  fro 
Till  I  my  Canaan  gain. 

More  modern  voices  sing  the  John  Wesley 
hymn  to  the  tune  "  Habbakuk, "  by  Edward  Hodges. 
It  has  a  lively  three-four  step,  and  finer  melody 
than  the  old. 

Edward  Hodges  was  born  in  Bristol,  Eng., 
July  20,  1796,  and  died  there  Sept.  1876.  Or- 
ganist at  Bristol  in  his  youth,  he  was  graduated 
at  Cambridge  and  in  1825  received  the  doctorate 
of  music  from  that  University.  In  1835  he  went 
to  Toronto,  Canada,  and  two  years  later  to  New 
York  city,  where  he  was  many  years  Director  of 
Music  at  Trinity  Church.  Returned  to  Bristol 
in   1863. 

*  'WHEN  GATHERING  CLOUDS  AROUND  I  VIEW." 

One  of  the  restful  strains  breathed  out  of  illness 
and  affliction  to  relieve  one  soul  and  bless  millions. 
It  was  written  by  Sir  Robert  Grant  (i  785-1838). 

When  gathering  clouds  around  I  view, 
And  days  are  dark,  and  friends  are  few, 
On  Him  I  lean  who  not  in  vain 
Experienced  every  human  pain. 

The  lines  are  no  less  admirable  for  their  literary 
beauty  than  for  their  feeling  and  their  faith.  Un- 
consciously, it  may  be,  to  the  writer,  in  this  and 
the  following  stanza  are  woven  an  epitome  of  the 
Saviour's  history.    He — 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  213 

Experienced  every  human  pain, 

felt  temptation's  power, 

wept  o'er  Lazarus  dead, 

— and  the   crowning  assurance  of   Jesus'  human 
sympathy  is  expressed  in  the  closing  prayer, — 

when  I  have  safely  passed 

Thro'  every  conflict  but  the  last, 
Still,  still  unchanging  watch  beside 
My  painful  bed — for  Thou  hast  died. 

THE    TUNE. 

Of  the  few  suitable  six-line  long  metre  part  songs, 
the  charming  Russian  tone-poem  of  "St.  Peters- 
burg*' by  Dimitri  Bortniansky  is  borrowed  for  the 
hymn  in  some  collections,  and  with  excellent 
effect.  It  accords  well  with  the  mood  and  tenor 
of  the  words,  and  deserves  to  stay  with  it  as  long 
as  the  hymn  holds  its  place. 

Dimitri  Bortniansky,  called  "The  Russian 
Palestrina,"  was  born  in  1752  at  Gloukoff,  a 
village  of  the  Ukraine.  He  studied  music  in 
Moscow,  St.  Petersburg,  Vienna,  Rome  and 
Naples.  Returning  to  his  native  land,  he  was 
made  Director  of  Empress  Catharine's  church  choir. 
He  reformed  and  systematized  Russian  church  mu- 
sic, and  wrote  original  scores  in  the  intervals  of  his 
teaching  labors.  His  works  are  chiefly  motets  and 
concertos,  which  show  his  genius  for  rich  harmony. 
Died   1825. 


214         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"JUST  AS  I  AM,  WITHOUT  ONE  PLEA." 

Charlotte  Elliott,  of  Brighton,  Eng.,  would  have 
been  well-known  through  her  admired  and  useful 
hymns, — 

My  God,  my  Father,  while  I  stray, 

My  God,  is  any  hour  so  sweet, 

With  tearful  eyes  I  look  around, 

— and  many  others.  But  in  "Just  as  I  am"  she 
made  herself  a  voice  in  the  soul  of  every  hesitating 
penitent.  The  currency  of  the  hymn  has  been  too 
swift  for  its  authorship  and  history  to  keep  up 
v/ith,  but  it  is  a  blessed  law  of  influence  that  good 
works  out-run  biographies.  This  master-piece 
of  metrical  gospel  might  be  called  Miss  EUiott's 
spiritual-birth  hymn,  for  a  reply  of  Dr.  Caesar 
Malan  of  Geneva  was  its  prompting  cause.  The 
young  lady  was  a  stranger  to  personal  religion 
when,  one  day,  the  good  man,  while  staying  at  her 
father's  house,  in  his  gentle  way  introduced  the 
subject.  She  resented  it,  but  afterwards,  stricken 
in  spirit  by  his  words,  came  to  him  with  apologies 
and  an  inquiry  that  confessed  a  new  concern  of 
mind.  "You  speak  of  coming  to  Jesus,  but  how  .? 
Fm  not  fit  to  come." 

"Come  just  as  you  are,"  said  Dr.  Malan. 

The  hymn  tells  the  result. 

Like  all  the  other  hymns  bound  up  in  her 
Invalid's  Hymn-book,  it  was  poured  from  out  the 
heart  of  one  who,  as  the  phrase  is,  "never  knew  a 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  215 

well  day," — though  she  lived  to   see  her  eighty- 
second  year. 

Illustrative  of  the  way  it  appeals  to  the  afflicted, 
a  little  ancedote  was  told  by  the  eloquent  John  B. 
Gough  of  his  accidental  seat-mate  in  a  city  church 
service.  A  man  of  strange  appearance  w^as  led 
by  the  kind  usher  or  sexton  to  the  pew  he  occupied. 
Mr.  Gough  eyed  him  with  strong  aversion.  The 
man's  face  was  mottled,  his  limbs  and  mouth 
twitched,  and  he  mumbled  singular  sounds. 
When  the  congregation  sang  he  attempted  to 
sing,  but  made  fearful  work  of  it.  During  the 
organ  interlude  he  leaned  toward  Mr.  Gough  and 
asked  how  the  next  verse  began.     It  was — 

Just  as  I  am,  poor,  wretched,  blind. 

"That's  it,"  sobbed  the  strange  man,  "I'm 
blind — God  help  me!" — and  the  tears  ran  down 
his  face — "  and  I'm  wretched — and  paralytic,"  and 
then  he  tried  hard  to  sing  the  line  with  the  rest. 

"After  that,"  said  Mr.  Gough,  "the  poor 
paralytic's  singing  was  as  sweet  to  me  as  a  Beetho- 
ven symphony." 

Charlotte  Elliott  was  born  March  i8,  1789, 
and  died  in  Brighton,  Sept.  22,  1871.  She  stands 
in  the  front  rank  of  female  hymn-writers. 

The  tune  of  "  Woodworth,"  by  William  B.  Brad- 
bury, has  mostly  superseded  Mason's  "Elliott," 
and  is  now  the  accepted  music  of  this  lyric  of 
perfect  faith  and  pious  surrender. 


2l6  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Just  as  I  am, — Thy  love  unknown 
Hath  broken  every  barrier  down, 
Now  to  be  Thine,  yea.  Thine  alone, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come. 

"MY  HOPE  IS  BUILT  ON  NOTHING  LESS." 

The  Rev.  Edward  Mote  was  born  in  London, 
1797.  According  to  his  own  testimony  his  parents 
were  not  God-fearing  people,  and  he  "went  to  a 
school  where  no  Bible  was  allowed;**  but  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  received  religious  impressions 
from  a  sermon  of  John  Hyatt  in  Tottenham  Court 
Chapel,  was  converted  two  years  later,  studied  for 
the  ministry,  and  ultimately  became  a  faithful 
preacher  of  the  gospel.  Settled  as  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  in  Horsham,  Sussex,  he  remained 
there  twenty-six  years — until  his  death,  Nov.  13, 
1874.  The  refrain  of  his  hymn  came  to  him  one 
Sabbath  when  on  his  way  to  Holborn  to  exchange 
pulpits: 

On  Christ  the  solid  rock  I  stand, 

All  other  ground  is  sinking  sand. 

There  were   originally   six   stanzas,   the   first   be- 
ginning: 

Nor  earth,  nor  hell,  my  soul  can  move, 
I  rest  upon  unchanging  love. 

The  refrain  is  a  fine  one,  and  really  sums  up  the 
whole  hymn,  keeping  constantly  at  the  front  the 
corner-stone  of  the  poet's  trust. 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING   AND    TRUST.  21 7 

My  hope  Is  built  on  nothing  less 
Than  Jesus'  blood  and  righteousness. 
I  dare  not  trust  the  sweetest  frame, 
But  only  lean  on  Jesus'  name. 
On  Christ  the  solid  Rock  I  stand 
All  other  ground  is  sinking  sand. 

When  darkness  veils  His  lovely  face 
I  trust  in  His  unchanging  grace, 
In  every  high  and  stormy  gale 
My  anchor  holds  within  the  veil. 
On  Christ  the  solid  Rock,  etc. 

Wm.  B.  Bradbury  composed  the  tune  (1863). 
It  is  usually  named  "The  Solid  Rock." 

**ABIDE  WITH  ME!   FAST  FALLS  THE  EVENTIDE." 

The  Rev.  Henry  Francis  Lyte,  author  of  this  melo- 
dious hymn-prayer,  was  born  at  Ednam,  near  Kel- 
so, Scotland,  June  first,  1793.  A  scholar,  graduated 
at  Trinity  College,  Dublin;  a  poet  and  a  musician, 
the  hard-working  curate  was  a  man  of  frail  phy- 
sique, with  a  face  of  almost  feminine  beauty,  and 
a  spirit  as  pure  and  gentle  as  a  little  child's.  The 
shadow  of  consumption  was  over  him  all  his  life. 
His  memory  is  chiefly  associated  with  the  district 
church  at  Lower  Brixham,  Devonshire,  where  he 
became  "perpetual  curate"  in  1823.  He  died  at 
Nice,  France,  Nov.  20,  1847. 

On  the  evening  of  his  last  Sunday  preaching 
and  communion  service  he  handed  to  one  of  his 
family  the  manuscript  of  his  hymn,  "Abide  with 
me,"  and  the  music  he  had  composed  for  it.     It 


2l8  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

was  not  till  eight  years  later  that  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  introduced  it,  or  a  part  of  it,  to  American 
Congregationalists,  and  fourteen  years  after  the 
author's  death  it  began  to  be  sung  as  we  now 
have  it,  in  this  country  and  England. 

Abide  with  me!  Fast  falls  the  eventide, 
The  darkness  deepens, — Lord  with  me  abide! 
When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  flee, 
Help  of  the  helpless,  O  abide  with  me! 

:(c     *     >|c     :|c     :«(     :»: 

Hold  Thou  Thy  cross  before  my  closing  eyes; 
Shine  through  the  gloom,  and  point  me  to  the  skies; 
Heaven's  morning  breaks,  and  earth's  vain  shadows  flee; 
In  life,  in  death,  O  Lord,  abide  with  me! 

THE   TUNE 

There  is  a  pathos  in  the  neglect  and  oblivion  of 
L)te's  own  tune  set  by  himself  to  his  words, 
especially  as  it  was  in  a  sense  the  work  of  a  dying 
man  who  had  hoped  that  he  might  not  be  "wholly 
mute  and  useless"  w^hile  lying  in  his  grave,  and 
who  had  prayed — 

O  Thou  whose  touch  can  lend 
Life  to  the  dead.    Thy  quickening  grace  supply. 
And  grant  me  swan-like  my  last  breath  to  spend 

In  song  that  may  not  die! 

His  prayer  was  answered  in  God's  own  way. 
Another's  melody  hastened  his  hymn  on  its  useful 
career,  and  revealed  to  the  world  its  immortal 
value. 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  219 

By  the  time  it  had  won  its  slow  recognition  in 
England,  it  was  probably  tuneless,  and  the  com- 
pilers of  Hymns  Aiicicnt  and  Modern  (1861)  dis- 
covering the  fact  just  as  they  were  finishing  their 
work,  asked  Dr.  William  Henry  Monk,  their 
music  editor,  to  supply  the  want.  "  In  ten  minutes," 
it  is  said,  "Dr.  Monk  composed  the  sweet,  pleading 
chant  that  is  wedded  permanently  to  Lyte's  swan 
song.'* 

WiUiam  Henry  Monk,  Doctor  of  Music,  was 
born  in  London,  1823.  His  musical  education 
was  early  and  thorough,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six  he  was  organist  and  choir  director  in  King's 
College,  London.  Elected  (1876)  professor  of  the 
National  Training  School,  he  interested  himself 
actively  in  popular  musical  education,  delivering 
lectures  at  various  institutions,  and  establishing 
choral  services. 

His  hymn-tunes  are  found  in  many  song-manuals 
of  the  English  Church  and  in  Scotland,  and  several 
have  come  to  America. 

Dr.  Monk  died  in  1889. 

''COME,  YE  DISCONSOLATE." 

By  Thomas  Moore — about  18 14.  The  poem 
in  its  original  form  differed  somewhat  from  the 
hymn  v/e  sing.  Thomas  Hastings — whose  religious 
experience,  perhaps,  made  him  better  qualified 
than  Thomas  Moore  for  spiritual  expression — 
changed  the  second  Hne, — 


220         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Come,  at  God's  altar  fervently  kneel, 
— to — 

Come  to  the  mercy  seat, 

— and  in  the  second  stanza  replaced — 

Hope  when  all  others  die, 
— with — 

Hope  of  the  penitent; 

— and  for  practically  the  whole  of  the  last  stanza — 

Go  ask  the  infidel  what  boon  he  brings  us, 
What  charm  for  aching  hearts  he  can  reveal. 
Sweet  as  that  heavenly  promise  hope  sings  us, 
* 'Earth  has  no  sorrow  that  heaven  cannot  heal," 

— Hastings  substituted — 

Here  see  the  Bread  of  life,  see  waters  flowing 
Forth  from  the  throne  of  God,  pure  from  above! 
Come  to  the  feast  Love,  come  ever  knowing 
Earth  has  no  sorrow  but  heaven  can  remove. 

Dr.  Hastings  was  not  much  of  a  poet,  but  he 
could  make  a  singable  hymn,  and  he  knew  the 
rhythm  and  accent  needed  in  a  hymn-tune.  The 
determination  was  to  make  an  evangelical  hymn 
of  a  poem  "too  good  to  lose,''  and  in  that  view 
perhaps  the  editorial  Hberties  taken  with  it  were 
excusable.  It  was  to  Moore,  however,  that  the 
real  hymn-thought  and  key-note  first  came,  and 
the  title-line  and  the  sweet  refrain  are  his  own — 
for  which  the  Christian  world  has  thanked  him, 
lo  these  many  years. 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  221 

THE    TUNE. 

Those  who  question  why  Dr.  Hastings'  interest 
in  Moore's  poem  did  not  cause  him  to  make  a 
tune  for  it,  must  conclude  that  it  came  to  him  with 
its  permanent  melody  ready  made,  and  that  the 
tune  satisfied  him. 

The  "German  Air"  to  which  Moore  tells  us  he 
wrote  the  words,  probably  took  his  fancy,  if  it  did 
not  induce  his  mood.  Whether  Samuel  Webbe's 
tune  now  wedded  to  the  hymn  is  an  arrangement 
of  the  old  air  or  wholly  his  own  is  immaterial.  One 
can  scarcely  conceive  a  happier  yoking  of  counter- 
parts. Try  singing  "Come  ye  Disconsolate"  to 
"Rescue  the  Perishing,"  for  example,  and  we 
shall  feel  the  impertinence  of  divorcing  a  hymn 
that   has  found   its   musical   affinity. 

"JESUS,  I  MY  CROSS   HAVE  TAKEN." 

This  is  another  well-known  and  characteristic 
hymn  of  Henry  Francis  Lyte — originally  six 
stanzas.  We  have  been  told  that,  besides  his 
bodily  affliction,  the  grief  of  an  unhappy  division 
or  difference  in  his  church  weighed  upon  his 
spirit,  and  that  it  is  alluded  to  in  these  lines — 

Man  may  trouble  and  distress  me, 
'Twill  but  drive  me  to  Thy  breast, 
Life  with  trials  hard  may  press  me, 
Heaven  will  bring  me  sweeter  rest. 


222  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

O,  'tis  not  in  grief  to  harm  me 

While  Thy  love  is  left  to  me, 
O,  'tis  not  in  joy  to  charm  me 

Were  that  joy  unmixed  with  Thee. 

Tunes,  "Autumn,"  by  F.  H.  Barthelemon,  or 
"Ellesdie,''  (formerly  called  *' Disciple")  from 
Mozart — familiar  in  either. 

"FROM    EVERY    STORMY    WIND    THAT    BLOWS." 

This  is  the  much-sung  and  deeply-cherished 
hymn  of  Christian  peace  that  a  pious  Manxman, 
Hugh  Stowell,  was  inspired  to  write  nearly  a 
hundred  years  ago.  Ever  since  it  has  carried 
consolation  to  souls  in  both  ordinary  and  extra- 
ordinary trials. 

It  was  sung  by  the  eight  American  martyrs, 
Revs.  Albert  Johnson,  John  E.  Freeman,  David 
E.  Campbell  and  their  wives,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McMullen,  when  by  order  of  the  bloody  Nana 
Sahib  the  captive  missionaries  were  taken  prisoners 
and  put  to  death  at  Cawnpore  in  1857.  Two 
little  children,  Fannie  and  Willie  Campbell, 
suffered  with  their  parents. 

From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows, 
From  every  swelling  tide  of  woes 
There  is  a  calm,  a  sure  retreat; 
*Tis  found  beneath  the  Mercy  Seat. 

Ah,  whither  could  we  flee  for  aid 
W^hen  tempted,  desolate,  dismayed. 
Or  how  the  hosts  of  hell  defeat 
Had  suffering  saints  no  Mercy  Seat  ? 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  223 

There,  there  on  eagle  wings  we  soar, 
And  sin  and  sense  molest  no  more. 
And  heaven  comes  down  our  souls  to  greet 
While  glory  crowns  the  Mercy  Seat. 

Rev.  Hugh  Stowell  was  born  at  Douglas  on  the 
Isle  of  Man,  Dec.  3,  1799.  He  was  educated  at 
Oxford  and  ordained  to  the  ministry  1823,  re- 
ceiving twelve  years  later  the  appointment  of 
Canon  to  Chester  Cathedral. 

He  was  a  popular  and  effective  preacher  and  a 
graceful  writer.  Forty-seven  hymns  are  credited 
to  him,  the  above  being  the  best  known.  To 
presume  it  is  "his  best,"  leaves  a  good  margin  of 
merit  for  the  remainder. 

"From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows"  has 
practically  but  one  tune.  It  has  been  sung  to 
Hastings  "Retreat"  ever  since  the  music  was  made. 

"CHILD  OF  SIN  AND  SORROW." 


Child  of  sin  and  sorrow,  filled  with  dismay, 
Wait  not  for  tomorrow,  yield  thee  today. 
Heaven  bids  thee  come,  while  yet  there's  room, 
Child  of  sin  and  sorrow,  hear  and  obey. 

Words  and  music  by  Thomas  Hastings. 

"LEAD,  KINDLY  LIGHT." 

John  Henry  Newman,  born  in  London,  Feb. 
21,  1 80 1 — known  in  religious  history  as  Cardinal 
Newman — wrote  this  hymn  when  he  was  a  young 
clergyman    of  the  Church    of   England.      "Born 


224         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

within  the  sound  of  Bow  bells,"  says  Dr.  Benson, 
*'he  was  an  imaginative  boy,  and  so  superstitious, 
that  he  used  constantly  to  cross  himself  when 
going  into  the  dark."  Intelligent  students  of  the 
fine  hymn  will  note  this  habit  of  its  author's  mind 
— and  surmise  its  influence  on  his  religious 
musings. 

The  agitations  during  the  High  Church  move- 
ment, and  the  persuasions  of  Hurrell  Froude,  a 
Romanist  friend,  while  he  was  a  tutor  at  Oxford, 
gradually  weakened  his  Protestant  faith,  and  in 
his  unrest  he  travelled  to  the  Mediterranean  coast, 
crossed  to  Sicily,  where  he  fell  violently  ill,  and  after 
his  recovery  waited  three  weeks  in  Palermo  for 
a  return  boat.  On  his  trip  to  Marsailles  he  wrote 
the  hymn — with  no  thought  that  it  would  ever  be 
called  a  hymn. 

When  complimented  on  the  beautiful  pro- 
duction after  it  became  famous  he  modestly  said, 
"It  was  not  the  hymn  but  the  tune  that  has  gained 
the  popularity.  The  tune  is  Dykes'  and  Dr.  Dykes 
is  a  great  master." 

Dr.  Newman  was  created  a  Cardinal  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  the  Catholic  Cathedral  of  London,  1879. 
Died  Aug.   11,  1890. 

THE    TUNE. 

*'Lux  Benigna,"  by  Dr.  Dykes,  was  composed 
in  Aug.  1865,  and  was  the  tune  chosen  for  this 
hymn   by   a   committee   preparing  the   Appendix 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  225 

to  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern.  Dr.  Dykes' 
statement  that  the  tune  came  into  his  head  while 
walking  through  the  Strand  in  London  "presents 
a  striking  contrast  with  the  solitary  origin  of  the 
hymn  itself"  (Benson). 

Lead,  kindly  Light,  amid  th*  encircling  gloom, 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 
The  night  is  dark  and  I  am  far  from  home; 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 
Keep  Thou  my  feet;  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene, — one  step  enough  for  me. 

So  long  Thy  power  hath  bless 'd  me,  sure  it  still 

Will  lead  me  on. 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone. 
And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile 
Which  I  have  loved  long  since,  and  lost  awhile. 

"I  HEARD  THE  VOICE  OF  JESUS  SAY." 

Few  if  any  Christian  writers  of  his  generation 
have  possessed  tuneful  gifts  in  greater  opulence 
or  produced  more  vital  and  lasting  treasures  of 
spiritual  verse  than  Horatius  Bonar  of  Scotland. 
He  inherited  some  of  his  poetic  faculty  from  his 
grandfather,  a  clergyman  who  wrote  several 
hymns,  and  it  is  told  of  Horatius  that  hymns  used 
to  "  come  to"  him  while  riding  on  railroad  trains. 
He  was  educated  in  the  Edinburgh  University 
and  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  his 


226         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

life  was  greatly  Influenced  by  Dr.  Guthrie,  whom 
he  followed  in  the  establishment  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland. 

Born  in  1808  in  Edinburgh,  he  was  about  forty 
years  old  when  he  came  back  from  a  successful  pas- 
torate at  Kelso  to  the  city  of  his  home  and  Alma 
Mater,  and  became  virtually  Chalmers'  successor 
as  minister  of  the  Chalmers  Memorial  Church. 

The  peculiar  richness  of  Bonar's  sacred  songs 
very  early  created  for  them  a  warm  welcome  in  the 
religious  world,  and  any  devout  lyric  or  poem  with 
his  name  attached  to  it  is  sure  to  be  read. 

Dr.  Bonar  died  in  Edinburgh,  July  31,  1889. 
Writing  of  the  hymn,  "I  heard  the  voice,"  etc..  Dr. 
David  Breed  calls  it  "one  of  the  most  ingenious 
hymns  in  the  language,"  referring  to  the  fact  that 
the  invitation  and  response  exactly  halve  each 
stanza  between  them — song  followed  by  counter- 
song.  "Ingenious"  seems  hardly  the  right  word 
for  a  division  so  obviously  natural  and  almost 
automatic.  It  is  a  simple  art  beauty  that  a  poet 
of  culture  makes  by  instinct.  Bowring's  "Watch- 
man, tell  us  of  the  night,"  is  not  the  only  other  in- 
stance of  similar  countersong  structure,  and  the 
regularity  in  Thomas  Scott's  little  hymn,  "Hasten, 
sinner,  to  be  wise,"  is  only  a  simpler  case  of  the 
way  a  poem  plans  itself  by  the  compulsion  of  its 
subject. 

I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say. 

Come  unto  me  and  rest, 
Lay  down,  thou  weary  one,  lay  down 
Thy  head  upon  My  breast: 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  22/ 

I  came  to  Jesus  as  I  was, 

Weary  and  worn  and  sad, 
I  found  in  Him  a  resting-place, 

And  He  has  made  me  glad. 

THE  TUNE. 

The  old  melody  of  "Evan,"  long  a  favorite, 
and  since  known  everywhere  through  the  currency 
given  to  it  in  the  Gospel  Hymns,  has  been  in 
many  collections  connected  with  the  words.  It  is 
good  congregational  psalmody,  and  not  unsuited  to 
the  sentiment,  taken  line  by  line,  but  it  divides  the 
stanzas  into  quatrains,  which  breaks  the  happy 
continuity.  "Evan"  was  made  by  Dr.  Mason  in 
1850  from  a  song  written  four  years  earlier  by 
Rev.  William  Henry  Havergal,  Canon  of  Worcester 
Cathedral,  Eng.  He  was  the  father  of  Frances 
Ridley  Havergal. 

The  more  ancient  "Athens,"  by  Felice  Giar- 
dini  (1716-1796),  author  of  the  "Itahan  Hymn," 
has  clung,  and  still  clings  lovingly  to  Bonar's 
hymn  in  many  communities.  Its  simplicity,  and 
the  involuntary  accent  of  its  sextuple  time,  exactly 
reproducing  the  easy  iambic  of  the  verses,  in- 
evitably made  it  popular,  and  thousands  of  older 
singers  today  will  have  no  other  music  with  "I 
heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say." 

"Vox  Jesu,"  from  the  andante  in  one  of  the 
quartets  of  Louis  Spohr  (i 784-1 859),  is  a  psalm- 
tune  of  good  harmony,  but  too  little  feeling. 

An  excellent  tune  for  all  the  shades  of  expression 


228  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

in  the  hymn,  is  the  arrangement  by  Hubert  P.  Main 
from  Franz  Abt — in  A  flat,  triple  time.  Gentle 
music  through  the  first  fifteen  bars,  in  alternate 
duet  and  quartet,  utters  the  Divine  Voice  with 
the  true  accent  of  the  lines,  and  the  second  portion 
completes  the  harmony  in  glad,  full  chorus — the 
answer  of  the  human  heart. 

"Vox  Dilecti,"  by  Dr.  Dykes,  goes  farther  and 
writes  the  Voice  in  B  flat  minor — which  seems  a 
needless  substitution  of  divine  sadness  for  divine 
sweetness.  It  is  a  tune  of  striking  chords,  but  its 
shift  of  key  to  G  natural  (major)  after  the  first 
four  lines  marks  it  rather  for  trained  choir  per- 
formance  than   for   assembly   song. 

It  is  possible  to  make  too  much  of  a  dramatic 
perfection  or  a  supposed  indication  of  structural 
design  in  a  hymn.  Textual  equations,  such  as 
distinguish  Dr.  Bonar's  beautiful  stanzas,  are  not 
necessarily  technical.  To  emphasize  them  as  in- 
genious by  an  ingenious  tune  seems,  somehow,  a 
reflection  on  the  spontaneity  of  the  hymn. 

Louis  Spohr  was  Director  of  the  Court  Theatre 
Orchestra  in  Cassel,  Prussia,  in  the  first  half  of  the 
last  century.  He  was  an  eminent  composer  of 
both  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  violinists  of  Europe. 

Hubert  Piatt  Main  was  born  in  Ridgefield,  Ct., 
Aug.  17,  1839.  He  read  music  at  sight  when  only 
ten  years  old,  and  at  sixteen  commenced  wTiting 
hymn-tunes.  Was  assistant  compiler  with  both 
Bradbury  and  Woodbury  in  their  various  publica- 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  229 

tions,  and  in  1868  became  connected  with  the 
firm  of  Biglow  and  Main,  and  has  been  their  book- 
maker until  the  present  time.  As  music  editor  in 
the  partnership  he  has  superintended  the  pubhca- 
tion  of  more  than  five  hundred  music-books,  ser- 
vices, etc. 

"I  LOVE  TO  STEAL  AWHILE  AWAY." 

The  burdened  wife  and  mother  who  wrote  this 
hymn  would,  at  the  time,  have  rated  her  history 
with  "the  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 
But  the  poor  who  are  **  remembered  for  w^hat  they 
have  done,'*  may  have  a  larger  place  in  history 
than  many  rich  who  did  nothing. 

Phebe  Hinsdale  Brown,  was  born  in  Canaan, 
N.  Y.,  in  1783.  Her  father,  George  Hinsdale,  who 
died  in  her  early  childhood,  must  have  been  a 
man  of  good  abilities  and  religious  feeling,  being 
the  reputed  composer  of  the  psalm-tune,  *' Hins- 
dale," found  in  some  long-ago  collections. 

Left  an  orphan  at  two  years  of  age,  Phebe  "fell 
into  the  hands  of  a  relative  who  kept  the  county 
jail,"  and  her  childhood  knew  little  but  the  bitter 
fare  and  ceaseless  drudgery  of  domestic  slavery. 
She  grew  up  with  a  crushed  spirit,  and  was  a 
timid,  shrinking  woman  as  long  as  she  lived.  She 
married  Timothy  H.  Brown,  a  house-painter  of 
Ellington,  Ct.,  and  passed  her  days  there  and  in 
Monson,  Mass.,  where  she  lived  some  twenty-five 
years. 


230  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

In  her  humble  home  in  the  former  town  her 
children  were  born,  and  it  was  while  caring  for  her 
own  little  family  of  four,  and  a  sick  sister,  that  the 
incident  occurred  (August  1818),  which  called 
forth  her  tender  hymn.  She  was  a  devout  Chris- 
tian, and  in  pleasant  weather,  whenever  she  could 
find  the  leisure,  she  would  "steal  away"  at  sunset 
from  her  burdens  a  little  w^hile,  to  rest  and  com- 
mune with  God.  Her  favorite  place  was  a 
wealthy  neighbor's  large  and  beautiful  flower 
garden.  A  servant  reported  her  visits  there  to  the 
mistress  of  the  house,  who  called  the  "intruder" 
to  account. 

''If  you  want  anything,  why  don't  you  come  in  ?" 
was  the  rude  question,  follow^ed  by  a  plain  hint  that 
no  stealthy  person  was  welcome. 

Wounded  by  the  ill-natured  rebuff,  the  sensitive 
woman  sat  down  the  next  evening  with  her  baby 
in  her  lap,  and  half-blinded  by  her  tears,  wrote 
"An  Apology  for  my  Twilight  Rambles,"  in  the 
verses  that  have  made  her  celebrated. 

She  sent  the  manuscript  (nine  stanzas)  to  her 
captious  neighbor — with  what  result  has  never 
been  told. 

Crude  and  simple  as  the  little  rhyme  was,  it 
contained  a  germ  of  lyric  beauty  and  life.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Hyde  of  Ellington,  who  was  a 
neighbor  of  Mrs.  Brown,  procured  a  copy.  He 
was  assisting  Dr.  Nettleton  to  compile  the  Village 
Hymns,  and  the  humble  bit  of  devotional  verse 
was  at  once  judged  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  new 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  23I 

book,  Dr.  Hyde  and  his  daughter  EmeHne  giving 
it  some  kind  touches  of  rhythmic  amendment. 

I  love  to  steal  awhile  away 
From  little  ones  and  care, 

— became, — 

I  love  to  steal  awhile  away 
From  every  cumb'ring  care. 

In  the  last  line  of  this  stanza — 

In  gratitude  and  prayer 

— was  changed  to — 

In  humble,  grateful  prayer, 

— and  the  few  other  defects  in  syllabic  smoothness 
or  literary  grace  were  affectionately  repaired,  but 
the  slight  furbishing  it  received  did  not  alter  the 
individuality  of  Mrs.  Brown's  work.  It  remained 
hers — and  took  its  place  among  the  immortals  of  its 
kind,  another  illustration  of  how  little  poetry  it  takes 
to  make  a  good  hymn.  Only  five  stanzas  were 
printed,  the  others  being  voted  redundant  by  both 
author  and  editor.  The  second  and  third,  as  now 
sung,  are — 

I  love  in  solitude  to  shed 

The  penitential  tear. 
And  all  His  promises  to  plead 

Where  none  but  God  can  hear. 

I  love  to  think  on  mercies  past 

And  future  good  implore. 
And  all  my  cares  and  sorrows  cast 

On  Him  whom  I  adore. 


232 


STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 


Phebe  Brown  died  at  Henry,  111.,  in  1861 ;  but  she 
had  made  the  church  and  the  world  her  debtor 
not  only  for  her  little  lyric  of  pious  trust,  but  by 
rearing  a  son,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Brown,  D.D.,  who 
became  the  pioneer  American  missionary  to  Japan 
— to  which  Christian  calling  two  of  her  grandchil- 
dren also  consecrated  themselves. 

THE    TUNE. 


Mrs.  Brown's  son  Samuel,  who,  besides  being  a 
good  minister,  inherited  his  grandfather's  musical 
gift,  composed  the  tune  of  "  Alonson,"  (named  in 
his  mother's  honor,  after  her  late  home),  and  it  may 
have  been  the  first  music  set  to  her  hymn.  It  was 
the  fate  of  his  offering,  however,  to  lose  its  filial 
place,  and  be  succeeded  by  different  melodies, 
though  his  own  still  survives  in  a  few  collections, 
sometimes  with  Collyer's  "O  Jesus  in  this  solemn 
hour."  It  is  good  music  for  a  hymn  of  praise 
rather  than  for  meditative  verse.  Many  years  the 
hymn  has  been  sung  to  "Woodstock,"  an  appro- 
priate and  still  familiar  tune  by  Deodatus  Dutton, 

Button's  "Woodstock"  and  Bradbur}^'s  "Brown," 
which  often  replaces  it,  are  worthy  rivals  of  each 
other,  and  both  continue  in  favor  as  fit  choral  inter- 
pretations of  the  much-loved  hymn. 

Deodatus  Dutton  was  born  Dec.  22,  1808,  and 
educated  at  Brown  University  and  Washington 
College  (now  Trinity)  Hartford  Ct.  While  there 
he  was  a  student  of  music  and  played  the  organ 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  233 

at  Dr.  Matthews*  church.  He  studied  theology 
in  New  York  city,  and  had  recently  entered  the 
ministry  when  he  suddenly  died,  Dec.  16,  1832,  a 
moment  before  rising  to  preach  a  sermon.  Dur- 
ing his  brief  life  he  had  written  several  hymn- 
tunes,  and  published  a  book  of  psalmody.  Mrs. 
Sigourney  wrote  a  poem  on  his  death. 

"THERE'S  A  WIDENESS  IN  GOD'S  MERCY." 

Frederick  William  Faber,  author  of  this  favorite 
hymn-poem,  had  a  peculiar  genius  for  putting 
golden  thoughts  into  common  words,  and  making 
them  sing.  Probably  no  other  sample  of  his  work 
shows  better  than  this  his  art  of  combining  literary 
cleverness  with  the  most  reverent  piety.  Cant  w^as 
a  quality  Faber  never  could  put  into  his  religious 
verse. 

He  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  Eng.,  June  28,  18 14, 
and  received  his  education  at  Oxford.  Settled 
as  Rector  of  Elton,  in  Huntingdonshire,  in  1843, 
he  came  into  sympathy  with  the  "Oxford  Move- 
ment,'' and  followed  Newman  into  the  Romish 
Church.  He  continued  his  ministry  as  founder 
and  priest  for  the  London  branch  of  the  Catholic 
congregation  of  St.  Philip  Neri  for  fourteen 
years,  dying  Sept.  26,  1863,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
nine. 

His  godly  hymns  betray  no  credal  shibboleth  or 
doctrinal  bias,  but  are  songs  for  the  whole  earthly 
church  of  God. 


234 


STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 


There's  a  wideness  In  God's  mercy 

Like  the  wideness  of  the  sea; 
There's  a  kindness  in  His  justice 

Which  is  more  than  hberty. 
There  is  welcome  for  the  sinner 

And  more  graces  for  the  good; 
There  is  mercy  with  the  Saviour, 

There  is  healing  in  His  blood. 

There's  no  place  where  earthly  sorrows 

Are  more  felt  than  up  in  heaven; 
There's  no  place  where  earthly  failings 

Have  such  kindly  judgment  given. 
There  is  plentiful  redemption 

In  the  blood  that  has  been  shed, 
There  is  joy  for  all  the  members 

In  the  sorrows  of  the  Head. 

For  the  love  of  God  is  broader 

Than  the  measure  of  man's  mind. 
And  the  heart  of  the  Eternal 

Is  most  wonderfully  kind. 
If  our  love  were  but  more  simple 

We  should  take  Him  at  His  word. 
And  our  lives  would  be  all  sunshine 

In  the  sweetness  of  the  Lord. 

No  tone  of  comfort  has  breathed  itself  more 
surely  and  tenderly  into  grieved  hearts  than  these 
tuneful  and  singularly  expressive  sentences  of 
Frederick  Faber. 

THE   TUNE. 


The  music  of  S.  J.  Vail  sung  to  Faber's  hymn 
is  one  of  that  composer's  best  hymn-tunes,  and  its 


HYMNS    OF    SUFFERING    AND    TRUST.  235 

melody  and  natural  movement  impress  the  mean- 
ing as  well  as  the  simple  beauty  of  the  words. 

Silas  Jones  Vail,  an  American  music-writer,  was 
born  Oct.,  1818,  and  died  May  20,  1883.  Another 
charming  tune  is  "  Wellesley, "  by  Lizzie  S.  Tourjee. 
daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Eben  Tourjee. 

' 'UE  LEADETH  ME!  OH,  BLESSED  THOUGHT." 

Professor  Gilmore,  of  Rochester  University, 
N.  Y.,  when  a  young  Baptist  minister  (1861)  sup- 
plying a  pulpit  in  Philadelphia  "jotted  down  this 
hymn  in  Deacon  Watson's  parlor"  (as  he  says)  and 
passed  it  to  his  wife,  one  evening  after  he  had  made 
"a  conference-room  talk"  on  the  23d  Psalm. 

Mrs.  Gilmore,  without  his  knowledge,  sent  it  to 
the  Watchman  and  Re-fiector  (now  the   Watchman), 

Years  after  its  publication  in  that  paper,  when  a 
candidate  for  the  pastorate  of  the  Second  Baptist 
Church  in  Rochester,  he  was  turning  the  leaves  of 
the  vestry  hymnal  in  use  there,  and  saw  his  hymn 
in  it.  Since  that  first  publication  in  the  Devotional 
Hymn  and  Tune  Book  (1865)  it  has  been  copied  in 
the  hymnals  of  various  denominations,  and  steadily 
holds  its  place  in  public  favor.  The  refrain  added 
by  the  tunemaker  emphasizes  the  sentiment  of  the 
lines,  and  undoubtedly  enhances  the  effect  of  the 
hymn. 

"He  leadeth  me"  has  the  true  hymn  quality, 
combining  all  the  simplicity  of  spontaneous  thought 
and  feehngwith  perfect  accent  and  liquid  rhythm. 


236  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

He  leadeth  me!  Oh,  blessed  thought, 
Oh,  words  with  heavenly  comfort  fraught; 
Whate'er  I  do,  where'er  I  be. 
Still  'tis  God's  hand  that  leadeth  me! 

3|c     *     *     :(c     4c     * 

Lord,  I  would  clasp  Thy  hand  in  mine, 
Nor  ever  murmur  nor  repine — 
Content,  whatever  lot  I  see. 
Since  'tis  my  God  that  leadeth  me. 

Professor  Joseph  Henry  Gilmore  was  born  in 
Boston,  April  29,  1834.  He  was  graduated  at  Phil- 
lips Academy,  Andover,  at  Brown  University,  and 
at  the  Newton  Theological  Institution,  where  he 
was  afterwards  Hebrew  instructor. 

After  four  years  of  pastoral  service  he  was  elected 
(1867)  professor  of  the  English  Language  and 
Literature  in  Rochester  University.  He  has  pub- 
lished Familiar  Chats  on  Books  and  Reading,  also 
several  college  text-books  on  rhetoric,  logic  and 
oratory. 

THE    TUNE, 

The  little  hymn  of  four  stanzas  was  peculiarly 
fortunate  in  meeting  the  eye  of  Mr.  William  B. 
Bradbury,  ( 1 863)  and  winning  his  musical  sympathy 
and  alliance.  Few  composers  have  so  exactly  caught 
the  tone  and  spirit  of  their  text  as  Bradbury  did 
when  he  vocalized  the  gliding  measures  of  *'He 
leadeth  me.'* 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CHRISTIAN  BALLADS. 


Echoes  of  Hebrew  thought,  if  not  Hebrew 
psalmody,  may  have  made  their  way  into  the  more 
serious  pagan  Hterature.  At  least  in  the  more  en- 
lightened pagans  there  has  ever  revealed  itself 
more  or  less  the  instinct  of  the  human  soul  that 
"feels  after"  God.  St.  Paul  in  his  address  to  the 
Athenians  made  a  tactful  as  well  as  scholarly  point 
to  preface  a  missionary  sermon  when  he  cited  a  line 
from  a  poem  of  Aratus  (B.  C.  272)  familiar,  doubt- 
less, to  the  majority  of  his  hearers. 

Dr.  Lyman  Abbot  has  thus  translated  the  pas- 
sage in  which  the  line  occurs: 

Let  us  begin  from  God.     Let  every  mortal  raise 
The  grateful  voice  to  tune  God's  endless  praise, 
God  fills  the  heaven,  the  earth,  the  sea,  the  air; 
We  feel  His  spirit  moving  everywhere. 
And  we  His  offspring  are.*    He,  ever  good, 
Daily  provides  for  man  his  daily  food. 
To  Him,  the  First,  the  Last,  all  homage  yield, — 
Our  Father  wonderful,  our  help,  our  shield." 


*ToQ   yap  xac  yevoq  h\Li\>. 

(237) 


238  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"RISE,  CROWNED  WITH  LIGHT/* 

Alexander  Pope,  a  Roman  Catholic  poet,  born  in 
London  1688,  died  at  Twickenham  1744,  was  not 
a  hymnist,  but  passages  in  his  most  serious  and  ex- 
alted flights  deserve  a  tuneful  accompaniment. 
His  translations  of  Homer  made  him  famous,  but 
his  ethical  poems,  especially  his  "Essay  on  Man," 
are  inexhaustible  mines  of  quotation,  many  of  the 
lines  and  couplets  being  common  as  proverbs.  His 
"Messiah,"  written  about  1711,  is  a  religious  an- 
them in  which  the  prophecies  of  Holy  Writ  kindle 
all  the  splendor  of  his  verse. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  closing  strain,  indicated  by  the  above  line, 
has  been  divided  into  stanzas  of  four  lines  suitable 
to  a  church  hymn-tune.  The  melody  selected  by 
the  compilers  of  the  Plymouth  Hymnal,  and  of  the 
Unitarian  Hymn  and  Tune  Book  is  "Savannah," 
an  American  sounding  name  for  what  is  really  one 
of  PleyeFs  chorals.  The  music  is  worthy  of  Pope's 
triumphal  song. 

The  seas  shall  waste,  the  skies  to  smoke  decay. 
Rocks  fall  to  dust,  and  mountains  melt  away. 
But  fixed  His  Word;   His  saving  power  remains: 
Thy  realm  shall  lastj   thy  own  Messiah  reigns. 

"OH,  WHY  SHOULD  THE  SPIRIT?" 

This  is  a  sombre  poem,  but  its  virile  strength  and 
its  literary  merit  have  given  it  currency,  and  com- 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  239 

mended  it  to  the  taste  of  many  people,  both  weak 
and  strong,  who  have  the  pensive  temperament. 
Abraham  Lincoln  loved  it  and  committed  it  to 
memory  in  his  boyhood.  Philip  Phillips  set  it  to 
music,  and  sang  it — or  a  part  of  it — one  day  during 
the  Civil  war  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Christian 
Sanitary  Commission,  when  President  Lincoln, 
who  was  present,  called  for  its  repetition.*  It  was 
written  by  William  Knox,  born  1789,  son  of  a 
Scottish  farmer. 

The  poem  has  fourteen  stanzas,  the  following 
being  the  first  and  two  last — 

Oh,  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 
Like  a  swift-fleeting  meteor,  a  fast-flying  cloud, 
A  flash  of  the  lightning,  a  break  of  the  wave. 
He  passeth  from  life  to  rest  in  the  grave. 

Yea,  hope  and  despondency,  pleasure  and  pain. 
Are  mingled  together  like  sunshine  and  rain; 
And  the  smile  and  the  tear,  the  song  and  the  dirge. 
Still  follow  each  other  like  surge  upon  surge. 

*Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye;    'tis  the  draft  of  a  breath 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud, 
Oh,  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 

Philip  Phillips  was  born  in  Jamestown,  Chau- 
tauqua Co.,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  II,  1834, and  died  in  Del- 

*This  account  so  nearly  resembles  the  story  of  Mrs.  Gates'  "Your  Mission," 
sung  to  a  similar  audience,  on  a  similar  occasion,  by  the  same  man,  that  a  pos- 
sible confusion  by  the  narrators  of  the  incident  has  been  suggested.  But  that 
Mr.  Phillips  sang  twice  before  the  President  during  the  war  does  not  appeal 
to  be  contradicted.    To  what  air  he  sang  the  above  verses  is  uncertain. 


240  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

aware,  O.,  June  25,  1895.  He  wrote  no  hymns 
and  was  not  an  educated  musician,  but  the  airs  of 
popular  hymn-music  came  to  him  and  were  har- 
monized for  him  by  others,  most  frequently  by  his 
friends,  S.  J.  Vail  and  Hubert  P.  Main.  He  com- 
piled and  published  thirty-one  collections  for  Sun- 
day-schools and  gospel  meetings,  besides  the  Meth- 
odist Hymn  and  Tune  Book,  issued  in  1866. 

He  was  a  pioneer  gospel  singer,  and  his  tuneful 
journeys  through  America,  England  and  Australia 
gave  him  the  name  of  the  "Singing  Pilgrim,"  the 
title  of  his  song  collection  (1867). 

**WHEN  ISRAEL  OF  THE  LORD  BELOVED." 

The  "Song  of  Rebecca  the  Jewess,"  in  "Ivan- 
hoe,"  was  written  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  author  of  the 
Waverly  Novels,  "Marmion,"  etc.,  born  in  Edin- 
burgh, 1 77 1,  and  died  at  Abbotsford,  1832.  The 
lines  purport  to  be  the  Hebrew  hymn  with  which 
Rebecca  closed  her  daily  devotions  while  in  prison 
under  sentence  of  death. 

When  Israel  of  the  Lord  beloved 

Out  of  the  land  of  bondage  came 
Her  fathers'  God  before  her  moved, 

An  awful  Guide  in  smoke  and  flame. 

Then  rose  the  choral  hymn  of  praise, 
And  trump  and  timbrel  answered  keen, 

And  Zion's  daughters  poured  their  lays. 
With  priest's  and  warrior's  voice  between. 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  24I 

By  day  along  th'  astonished  lands 

The  cloudy  Pillar  glided  slow, 
By  night  Arabia's  crimson'd  sands 

Returned  the  fiery  Column's  glow. 

:|c     4:     >):     He     He     * 

And  O,  when  gathers  o'er  our  path 
In  shade  and  storm  the  frequent  night 

Be  Thou,  long  suffering,  slow  to  wrath, 
A  burning  and  a  shining  Light! 

The  "Hymn  of  Rebecca"  has  been  set  to  music 
though  never  in  common  use  as  a  hymn.  Old 
"Truro",  by  Dr.  Charles  Burney  (1726-1814) 
is  a  grand  Scotch  psalm  harmony  for  the  words, 
though  one  of  the  Unitarian  hymnals  borrows  Zeun- 
er's  sonorous  choral,  the  "Missionary  Chant." 
Both  sound  the  lyric  of  the  Jewess  in  good  Christ- 
ian music. 

"WE  SAT  DOWN  AND  WEPT  BY  THE  WATERS." 

The  137th  Psalm  has  been  for  centuries  a  fav- 
orite with  poets  and  poetical  translators,  and  its 
pathos  appealed  to  Lord  Byron  when  engaged  in 
writing  his  Hebrew  Melodies. 

Byron  was  born  in  London,  1788,  and  died  at 
Missolonghi,  Western  Greece,  1824. 

We  sat  down  and  wept  by  the  waters 
Of  Babel,  and  thought  of  the  day 

When  the  foe,  in  the  hue  of  his  slaughters. 
Made  Salem's  high  places  his  prey. 

And  ye,  Oh  her  desolate  daughters. 
Were  scattered  all  weeping  away. 


242  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

— Written  April,  1814.  It  was  the  fashion  then  for 
musical  societies  to  call  on  the  popular  poets  for 
contributions,  and  tunes  were  composed  for  them, 
though  these  have  practically  passed  into  oblivion. 
Byron's  ringing  ballad  (from  II  Kings  19:35) — 

Th'  Assyrian  came  down  like  a  wolf  on  the  fold 
And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold, 

— has  been  so  much  a  favorite  for  recitation  and 
declamation  that  the  loss  of  its  tune  is  never 
thought  of. 

Another  poetic  rendering  of  the  "Captivity 
Psalm"  is  worthy  of  notice  among  the  lay  hymns 
not  unworthy  to  supplement  clerical  sermons.  It 
was  written  by  the  Hon.  Joel  Barlow  in  1799,  and 
published  in  a  pioneer  psalm-book  at  Northamp- 
ton, Mass.  It  is  neither  a  translation  nor  properly 
a  hymn  but  a  poem  built  upon  the  words  of  the 
Jewish  lament,  and  really  reproducing  something 
of  its  plaintive  beauty.  Two  stanzas  of  it  are  as 
follows : 

Along  the  banks  where  Babel's  current  flows 

Our  captive  bands  in  deep  despondence  strayed, 

While  Zion's  fall  in  deep  remembrance  rose. 

Her  friends,  her  children  mingled  with  the  dead. 

The  tuneless  harps  that  once  with  joy  we  strung 
When  praise  employed,  or  mirth  inspired  the  lay. 

In  mournful  silence  on  the  willows  hung. 
And  growing  grief  prolonged  the  tedious  day. 

Like  Pope,  this  American  poet  loved  onomatope 
and  imitative  verse,  and  the  last  line  is  a  word- 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  243 

picture  of  home-sick  weariness.  This  "psalm*' 
was  the  best  piece  of  work  in  Mr.  Barlow's  series  of 
attempted  improvements  upon  Isaac  Watts — 
which  on  the  whole  were  not  very  successful.  The 
sweet  cantabile  of  Mason's  "Melton"  gave  "Along 
the  banks"  quite  an  extended  lease  of  life,  though 
it  has  now  ceased  to  be  sung. 

Joel  Barlow  was  a  versatile  gentleman,  serving 
his  country  and  generation  in  almost  every  useful 
capacity,  from  chaplain  in  the  continental  army 
to  foreign  ambassador.  He  was  born  in  Redding, 
Ct.,  1755,  and  died  near  Cracow,  Poland,  Dec. 
1812. 

"AS  DOWN  IN  THE  SUNLESS." 

Thomas  Moore,  the  poet  of  glees  and  love- 
madrigals,  had  sober  thoughts  in  the  intervals  of 
his  gaiety,  and  employed  his  genius  in  writing 
religious  and  even  devout  poems,  which  have  been 
spiritually  helpful  in  many  phases  of  Christian 
experience.  Among  them  was  this  and  the  four 
following  hymns,  with  thirty-four  others,  each  of 
which  he  carefully  labelled  with  the  name  of  a  music 
composer,  though  the  particular  tune  is  left  in- 
definite. "The  still  prayer  of  devotion"  here 
answers,  in  rhyme  and  reality,  the  simile  of  the 
sea-flower  in  the  unseen  deep,  and  the  mariner's 
compass  represents  the  constancy  of  a  believer. 

As,  still  to  the  star  of  its  worship,  though  clouded. 
The  needle  points  faithfully  o'er  the  dim  sea. 

So,  dark  as  I  roam  in  this  wintry  world  shrouded, 
The  hope  of  my  spirit  turns  trembling  to  Thee. 


244  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

It  is  sung  in  Plymouth  Hymnal  to  Barnby's  **St. 
Botolph." 

"THE  TURF  SHALL  BE  MY  FRAGRANT   SHRINE" 

Is,  in  part,  still  preserved  in  hymn  collections,  and 
sung  to  the  noble  tune  of  "  Louvan,"  Virgil  Tay- 
lor's piece.  The  last  stanza  is  especially  reminis- 
cent of  the  music. 

There's  nothing  bright  above,  below, 
From  flowers  that  bloom  to  stars  that  glow; 
But  in  its  light  my  soul  can  see 
Some  feature  of  Thy  deity. 

"O  THOU  WHO  DRY'ST  THE  MOURNER^S  TEAR  " 

Is  associated  in  the  Baptist  Praise  Book  with 
Woodbur/s  "Siloam.'' 

"THE  BIRD  LET  LOOSE  IN   EASTERN  SKIES" 

Has  been  sung  in  Mason's  "Coventry,"  and  the 
Plymouth  Hymnal  assigns  it  to  "Spohr" — a  name- 
sake tune  of  Louis  Spohr,  while  the  Unitarian 
Hymn  and  Tune  Book  unites  to  it  a  beautiful  triple- 
time  melody  from  Mozart,  and  bearing  his  name. 

"THOU  ART,  O  GOD,  THE  LIFE  AND  LIGHT." 

This  is  the  best  of  the  Irish  poet's  sacred  songs — 
always  excepting,  "Come,  Ye  Disconsolate."  It  is 
said  to  have  been  originally  set  to  a  secular  melody 
composed  by  the  wife  of  Hon.  Richard  Brinsley 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  245 

Sheridan.  It  is  joined  to  the  tune  of  "Brighton" 
in  the  Unitarian  books,  and  WiUiam  Monk's 
"Matthias"  voices  the  words  for  the  Plymouth 
Hymnal.  The  verses  have  the  true  lyrical  glov^, 
and  make  a  real  song  of  praise  as  well  a  composition 
of  more  than  ordinary  literary  beauty. 

Thou  art,  O  God,  the  life  and  light 
Of  all  this  wondrous  world  we  see; 

Its  glow  by  day,  its  smile  by  night 
Are  but  reflections  caught  from  Thee. 

Where'er  we  turn  Thy  glories  shine, 

And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  Thine. 

When  night  with  wings  of  starry  gloom 
O'ershadows  all  the  earth,  and  skies 

Like  some  dark,  beauteous  bird,  whose  plume 
Is  sparkling  with  unnumbered  eyes, 

That  sacred  gloom,  those  fires  divine, 

So  grand,  so  countless.  Lord,  are  Thine. 

When  youthful  spring  around  us  breathes, 
Thy  Spirit  warms  her  fragrant  sigh. 

And  every  flower  the  summer  wreathes 
Is  born  beneath  that  kindling  eye. 

Where'er  we  turn  Thy  glories  shine, 

And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  Thine. 

"MOURNFULLY,  TENDERLY,  BEAR  ON  THE  DEAD." 

A  tender  funeral  ballad  by  Henry  S.  Washburn, 
composed  in  1846  and  entitled  "The  Burial  of  Mrs. 
Judson."  It  is  rare  now  in  sheet-music  form  but 
the  American  Vocalist,  to  be  found  in  the  stores 


246         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

of  most  great  music  publishers  and  dealers,  pre- 
serves the  full  poem  and  score. 

Its  occasion  was  the  death  at  sea,  off  St.  Helena, 
of  the  Baptist  missionary,  Mrs.  Sarah  Hall 
Boardman  Judson,  and  the  solemn  committal  of 
her  remains  to  the  dust  on  that  historic  island, 
Sept.  I,  1845.  ^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^y  ^^  America 
from  Burmah  at  the  time  of  her  death,  and  the 
ship  proceeded  on  its  homeward  voyage  im- 
mediately after  her  burial.  The  touching  circum- 
stances of  the  gifted  lady's  death,  and  the  strange 
romance  of  her  entombment  where  Napoleon's 
grave  was  made  twenty-four  years  before,  inspired 
Mr.  Washburn,  who  was  a  prominent  layman  of 
the  Baptist  denomination,  and  interested  in  all  its 
ecclesiastical  and  missionary  activities,  and  he 
wrote  this  poetic  memorial  of  the  event: 

Mournfully,  tenderly,  bear  on  the  dead; 
Where  the  warrior  has  lain,  let  the  Christian  be  laid. 
No  place  more  befitting,  O  rock  of  the  sea; 
Never  such  treasure  was  hidden  in  thee. 

Mournfully,  tenderly,  solemn  and  slow; 
Tears  are  bedewing  the  path  as  ye  go; 
Kindred  and  strangers  are  mourners  today; 
Gently,  so  gently,  O  bear  her  away. 

Mournfully,  tenderly,  gaze  on  that  brow; 
Beautiful  is  it  in  quietude  now. 
One  look,  and  then  settle  the  loved  to  her  rest 
The  ocean  beneath  her,  the  turf  on  her  breast. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Judson  was  the  second  wife  of  the 
Rev.  Adoniram  Judson,  D.D.,  the  celebrated  pio- 


I 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  247 

neer  American  Baptist  missionary,  and  the 
mother  by  her  first  marriage,  of  the  late  Rev. 
George  Dana  Boardman,  D.D.,  LL.  D.,  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  Hon.  Henry  S.  Washburn  was  born  in 
Providence,  R.  I.,  1813,  and  educated  at  Brow^n 
University.  During  most  of  his  long  life  he  re- 
sided in  Massachusetts,  and  occupied  there  many 
positions  of  honor  and  trust,  serving  in  the  State 
Legislature  both  as  Representative  and  Senator. 
He  was  the  author  of  many  poems  and  lyrics  of 
high  merit,  some  of  which — notably  "The  Vacant 
Chair*' — became  popular  in  sheet-music  and  in 
books  of  religious  and  educational  use.  He  died 
in  1903. 

THE   TUNE. 

"The  Burial  of  Mrs.  Judson*'  became  favorite 
parlor  music  when  Lyman  Heath  composed  the 
melody  for  it — of  the  same  name.  Its  notes  and 
movement  were  evidently  inspired  by  the  poem, 
for  it  reproduces  the  feeling  of  every  line.  The 
threnody  was  widely  known  and  sung  in  the 
middle  years  of  the  last  century,  by  people,  too, 
who  had  scarcely  heard  of  Mrs.  Judson,  and  re- 
ceived in  the  music  and  words  their  first  hint  of  her 
history.  The  poem  prompted  the  tune,  but  the 
tune  was  the  garland  of  the  poem. 

Lyman  Heath  of  Bow,  N.  H.,  was  born  there 
Aug.  24,  1804.  He  studied  music,  and  became  a 
vocalist  and  vocal  composer.    Died  July  30,  1870. 


248  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

•TELL  ME  NOT  IN  MOURNFUL  NUMBERS." 

Longfellow's  "Psalm  of  Life"  was  written  when 
he  was  a  young  man,  and  for  some  years  it  carried 
the  title  he  gave  it,  "What  the  Young  Man's  Heart 
Said  to  the  Psalmist" — a  caption  altogether  too 
long  to  bear  currency. 

The  history  of  the  beloved  poet  who  wrote  this 
optimistic  ballad  of  hope  and  courage  is  too  well 
known  to  need  recounting  here.  He  was  born  in 
Portland,  Me.,  in  1807,  graduated  at  Bowdoin 
College,  and  was  for  more  than  forty  years  pro- 
fessor of  Belles  Lettres  in  Harvard  University. 
Died  in  Cambridge,  March  4,  1882.  Of  his  longer 
poems  the  most  read  and  admired  are  his  beautiful 
romance  of  "Evangeline,"  and  his  epic  of  "Hia- 
watha," but  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  for 
the  last  sixty  years,  his  "Psalm  of  Life"  has  been 
the  common  property  of  all  American,  if  not 
English  school-children,  and  a  part  of  their  edu- 
cation. When  he  was  in  London,  Queen  Victoria 
sent  for  him  to  come  and  see  her  at  the  palace. 
He  went,  and  just  as  he  was  seating  himself  in  the 
waiting  coach  after  the  interview,  a  man  in  working 
clothes  appeared,  hat  in  hand,  at  the  coach  window. 

"Please  sir,  yer  honor,"  said  he,  "an*  are  you 
Mr.  Longfellow  ?" 

"I  am  Mr.  Longfellow,"  said  the  poet. 

"An*  did  you  write  the  Psalm  of  Life.''"  he 
asked. 

"I  wrote  the  Psalm  of  Life,"  replied  the  poet. 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  249 

"An*,  yer  honor,  would  you  be  willing  to  take 
a  workingman  by  the  hand?" 

Mr.  Longfellow  gave  the  honest  Englishman  a 
hearty  handshake,  "And"  (said  he  in  telling  the 
story)  "I  never  in  my  life  received  a  compliment 
that  gave  me  more  satisfaction." 

The  incident  has  a  delightful  democratic  flavor 
— and  it  is  perfectly  characteristic  of  the  amiable 
author  of  the  most  popular  poem  in  the  English 
language.  The  "Psalm  of  Life"  is  a  wonderful 
example  of  the  power  of  commonplaces  put  into 
tuneful  and  elegant  verse. 

The  thought  of  setting  the  poem  to  music  came 
to  the  compiler  of  one  of  the  Unitarian  church 
singing  books.  Some  will  question,  however, 
whether  the  selection  was  the  happiest  that  could 
have  been  made.  The  tune  is  "  Rathbun,"  Ithamar 
Conkey's  melody  that  always  recalls  Sir  John  Bow- 
ring's  great  hymn  of  praise. 

"BUILD  THEE  MORE  NOBLE  MANSIONS." 

This  poem  by  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes, 
known  among  his  works  as  "The  Chambered 
Nautilus,"  was  considered  by  himself  as  his 
worthiest  achievement  in  verse,  and  his  wish  that 
it  might  live  is  likely  to  be  fulfilled.  It  is  stately, 
and  in  character  and  effect  a  rhythmic  sermon 
from  a  text  in  "natural  theology."  The  biography 
of  one  of  the  little  molluscan  sea-navigators  that 
continually  enlarges   its   shell  to   adapt   it  to   its 


250         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

growth  inspired  the  thoughtful  lines.     The  third, 
fourth  and  fifth  stanzas  are  as  follows: 

Year  after  year  beheld  the  silent  toil 

That  spread  the  lustrous  coil; 

Still,  as  the  spiral  grew, 
He  left  the  last  year's  dwelling  for  the  new. 
Stole  with  soft  step  the  shining  archway  through, 

Built  up  its  idle  door, 
Stretched  in  his  last-found  home,  and  knew  the  old  no  more. 

Thanks  for  the  heavenly  message  brought  by  thee. 

Child  of  the  wand'ring  sea. 

Cast  from  her  lap  forlorn! 
From  thy  dead  lips  a  clearer  note  is  born 
Than  ever  Triton  blew  from  wreathed  horn! 

While  on  my  ear  it  rings 
Through  the  deep  caves  of  thought  I  hear  a  voice  that  sings, 

"Build  thee  more  noble  mansions,  O  my  soul. 
As  the  swift  seasons  roll: 
Leave  thy  low-vaulted  past! 
Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the  last. 
Shut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome  more  vast, 
Till  thou  at  length  art  free, 
Leaving  thy  outgrown  shell  by  life's  unresting  sea." 

Dr.  Frederic  Hedge  included  the  poem  in  his 
hymn-book  but  without  any  singing-supplement  to 
the  words. 

WHITTIER'S  SERVICE  SONG. 


It  may  not  be  our  lot  to  wield 
The  sickle  in  the  harvest  field. 

If  this  stanza   and  the  four  following  do  not 
reveal  all  the  strength  of  John  G.  Whittier*s  spirit, 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  25I 

they  convey  its  serious  sweetness.  The  verses 
were  loved  and  prized  by  both  President  Garfield 
and  President  McKinley.  On  the  Sunday  before 
the  latter  went  from  his  Canton,  O.,  home  to  his 
inauguration  in  Washington  the  poem  was  sung 
as  a  hymn  at  his  request  in  the  services  at  the 
Methodist  church  where  he  had  been  a  constant 
worshipper. 

The  second  stanza  is  the  one  most  generally 
recognized  and  oftenest  quoted: 

Yet  where  our  duty's  task  is  wrought 
In  unison  with  God's  great  thought, 
The  near  and  future  blend  in  one, 
And  whatsoe'er  is  willed,  is  done. 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  the  poet  of  the 
oppressed,  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  1807, 
worked  on  a  farm  and  on  a  shoe-bench,  and  studied 
at  the  local  academy,  until,  becoming  of  age,  he 
went  to  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  began  a  brief 
experience  in  editorial  life.  Soon  after  his  return 
to  Massachusetts  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature^ 
and  after  his  duties  ended  there  he  left  the  state 
for  Philadelphia  to  edit  the  Pennsylvania  Free- 
man. A  few  years  later  he  returned  again,  and 
estabHshed  his  home  in  Amesbury,  the  town  with 
which  his  life  and  works  are  always  associated. 

He  died  in  1892  at  Hampton  Falls,  N.  H.,  where 
he  had  gone  for  his  health. 


252  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

THE    TUNE. 

"Abends,"  the  smooth  triple-time  choral  joined 
to  Whittier's  poem  by  the  music  editor  of  the  new 
Methodist  Hymnal,  speaks  its  meaning  so  well 
that  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  look  for  another. 
Sir  Herbert  Stanley  Oakeley,  the  composer,  was 
born  at  Ealing,  Eng.,  July  22,  1830,  and  educated 
at  Rugby  and  Oxford.  He  studied  music  in 
Germany,  and  became  a  superior  organist,  winning 
great  applause  by  his  recitals  at  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity, where  he  was  elected  Musical  Professor. 

Archbishop  Tait  gave  him  the  doctorate  of  music  at 
Canterbury  in  1871,  and  he  was  knighted  by  Queen 
Victoria  in  1876. 

Besides  vocal  duets,  Scotch  melodies  and  student 
songs,  he  composed  many  anthems  and  tunes  for 
the  church — notably  "Edina"  ("Saviour,  blessed 
Saviour")  and  "Abends,"  originally  written  to  Ke- 
ble's  "Sun  of  my  Soul." 

*  THE  BIRD  WITH  THE  BROKEN  PINION." 

This  lay  of  a  lost  gift,  with  its  striking  lesson, 
might  have  been  copied  from  the  wounded  bird's 
own  song,  it  is  so  natural  and  so  clear-toned. 
The  opportune  thought  and  pen  of  Mr.  Hezekiah 
Butterworth  gave  being  to  the  little  ballad  the 
day  he  heard  the  late  Dr.  George  Lorimer  preach 
from  a  text  in  the  story  of  Samson's  fall  (Judges 
16:21)  "The  Philistines  took  him,  and  put  out 
his  eyes,  and  brought  him  down  to  Gaza   .... 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  253 

and  he  did  grind  in  the  prison-house."  A  sentence 
in  the  course  of  the  doctor's  sermon,  "The  bird 
with  a  broken  pinion  never  soars  as  high  again," 
was  caught  up  by  the  Hstening  author,  and  became 
the  refrain  of  his  impressive  song.  Rev.  Frank  M. 
Lamb,  the  tuneful  evangehst,  found  it  in  print,  and 
wrote  a  tune  to  it,  and  in  his  voice  and  the  voices 
of  other  singers  the  little  monitor  has  since  told  its 
story  in  revival  meetings,  and  mission  and  gospel  ser- 
vices throughout  the  land. 

I  walked  through  the  woodland  meadows 

Where  sweet  the  thrushes  sing, 
And  found  on  a  bed  of  mosses 

A  bird  with  a  broken  wing. 
I  healed  its  wound,  and  each  morning 

It  sang  its  old  sweet  strain, 
But  the  bird  with  a  broken  pinion 

Never  soared  as  high  again. 

I  found  a  young  life  broken 

By  sin's  seductive  art; 
And,  touched  with  a  Christ-like  pity, 

I  took  him  to  my  heart. 
He  lived — with  a  noble  purpose, 

And  struggled  not  in  vain; 
But  the  life  that  sin  had  stricken 

Never  soared  as  high  again. 

But  the  bird  with  a  broken  pinion 

Kept  another  from  the  snare. 
And  the  life  that  sin  had  stricken 

Saved  another  from  despair. 
Each  loss  has  its  compensation. 

There  is  healing  for  every  pain 
But  the  bird  with  a  broken  pinion 

Never  soars  as  high  again. 


254  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

In  the  tune  an  extra  stanza  is  added — as  if 
something  conventional  were  needed  to  make  the 
poem  a  hymn.  But  the  professional  tone  of  the 
appended  stanza,  virtually  all  in  its  two  lines — 

Then  come  to  the  dear  Redeemer, 
He  will  cleanse  you  from  every  strain, 

— is  forced  into  its  connection.  The  poem  told  the 
truth,  and  stopped  there;  and  should  be  left  to 
fasten  its  own  impression.  There  never  was  a 
more  solemn  warning  uttered  than  in  this  little 
apologue.  It  promises  "  compensation  "  and  "  heal- 
ing,'* but  not  perfect  rehabilitation.  Sin  will 
leave  its  scars.  Even  He  who  "became  sin  for  us'* 
bore  them  in  His  resurrection  body. 

Rev.  Frank  M.  Lamb,  composer  and  singer  of 
the  hymn-tune,  was  born  in  Poland,  Me.,  i860, 
and  educated  in  the  schools  of  Poland  and  Auburn. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1888,  and  ordained  the 
same  year,  and  has  since  held  pastorates  in  Maine, 
New  York,  and  Massachusetts. 

Besides  his  tune,  very  pleasing  and  appropri- 
ate music  has  been  written  to  the  little  ballad  of 
the  broken  wing  by  Geo.  C.  Stebbins. 

UNDER  THE  PALMS. 


In  the  cantata,  "Under  the  Palms"  ("Captive 
Judah  in  Babylon") — the  joint  production  of 
George  F.  Root*  and  Hezekiah  Butterworth,  several 

♦See  page  316. 


Ellen  M, 
H.  Gates 


i 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  255 

of  the  latter*s  songs  detached  themselves,  with  their 
music,  from  the  main  work,  and  lingered  in  choral 
or  solo  service  in  places  v^here  the  sacred  operetta 
was  presented,  both  in  America  and  England. 
One  of  these  is  an  effective  solo  in  deep  contralto, 
with  a  suggestion  of  recitative  and  chant — 

By  the  dark  Euphrates'  stream, 
By  the  Tigris,  sad  and  lone 
I  wandered,  a  captive  maid; 
And  the  cruel  Assyrian  said, 
* 'Awake  your  harp's  sweet  tone!" 

I  had  heard  of  my  fathers'  glory  from  the  lips  of  holy  men. 
And   I  thought  of  the  land   of  my   fathers;  I  thought  of  my 
fathers'    land  then. 

Another  is — 

O  church  of  Christ!  our  blest  abode, 

Celestial  grace  is  thine. 
Thou  art  the  dwelling-place  of  God, 

The  gate  of  joy  divine. 

Whene'er  I  come  to  thee  in  joy. 

Whene'er  I  come  in  tears. 
Still  at  the  Gate  called  Beautiful 

My  risen  Lord  appears. 

— ^with  the  chorus — 


Where'er  for  me  the  sun  may  set, 

Wherever  I  may  dwell, 
My  heart  shall  nevermore  forget 

Thy  courts,  Immanuel! 


256  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"IF  YOU  CANNOT  ON  THE  OCEAN." 

This  popular  Christian  ballad,  entitled  "Your 
Mission,"  was  written  one  stormy  day  in  the  win- 
ter of  1 861-2  by  Miss  Ellen  M.  Huntington  (Mrs. 
Isaac  Gates),  and  made  her  reputation  as  one  of 
the  few  didactic  poets  whose  exquisite  art  wins  a 
hearing  for  them  everywhere.  In  a  moment  of 
revery,  while  looking  through  the  window  at  the 
falling  snow,  the  words  came  to  her: 

If  you  cannot  on  the  ocean 
Sail  among  the  swiftest  fleet. 

She  turned  away  and  wrote  the  lines  on  her 
slate,  following  with  verse  after  verse  till  she 
finished  the  whole  poem.  "It  wrote  itself,"  she 
says  in  her  own  account  of  it. 

Reading  afterwards  what  she  had  written,  she 
was  surprised  at  her  work.  The  poem  had  a  meaning 
and  a  "mission."  So  strong  was  the  impression 
that  the  devout  girl  fell  on  her  knees  and  con- 
secrated it  to  a  divine  purpose.  Free  copies  of  it 
went  to  the  Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  local  paper,  and 
to  the  New  York  Examtner,  and  appeared  in  both. 
From  that  time  the  history  and  career  of  "Your 
Mission"  presents  a  marked  illustration  of  "catenal 
influence,"  or  transmitted  suggestion. 

In  the  later  days  of  the  Civil  War  Philip  Phillips, 
who  had  a  wonderfully  sweet  tenor  voice,  was  invited 
to  sing  at  a  great  meeting  of  the  United  States  Chris- 
tian Commission  in  the  Senate  Chamber  at  Wash- 
ington,  February,   1865,   President   Lincoln   and 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  257 

Secretary  Seward  (then  president  of  the  commis- 
sion) were  there,  and  the  hall  was  crowded  with 
leading  statesmen,  army  generals,  and  friends  of 
the  Union.  The  song  selected  by  Mr.  Phillips  was 
Mrs.  Gates'  ''Your  Mission": 

If  you  cannot  on  the  ocean 

Sail  among  the  swiftest  fleet, 
Rocking  on  the  highest  billows, 

Laughing  at  the  storms  you  meet, 
You  can  stand  among  the  sailors 

Anchored  yet  within  the  bay; 
You  can  lend  a  hand  to  help  them 

As  they  launch  their  boats  away. 

The  hushed  audience  listened  spell-bound  as 
the  sweet  singer  went  on,  their  interest  growing  to 
feverish  eagerness  until  the  climax  was  reached 
in  the  fifth  stanza: 

If  you  cannot  in  the  conflict 

Prove  yourself  a  soldier  true, 
If  where  fire  and  smoke  are  thickest 

There's  no  work  for  you  to  do, 
When  the  battlefield  is  silent 

You  can  go  with  careful  tread; 
You  can  bear  away  the  wounded, 

You  can  cover  up  the  dead. 

In  the  storm  of  enthusiasm  that  followed,  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  handed  a  hastily  scribbled  line  on 
a  bit  of  paper  to  Chairman  Seward, 

"Near  the  close  let  us  have  *Your  Mission' 
repeated." 

Mr.  Phillips'  great  success  on  this  occasion 
brought  him  so  many  calls  for  his  services  that  he 


258  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

gave  up  everything  and  devoted  himself  to  his 
tuneful  art.  **Your  Mission"  so  gladly  welcomed 
at  Washington  made  him  the  first  gospel  songster, 
chanting  round  the  world  the  divine  message  of  the 
hymns.  It  was  the  singing  by  Philip  Phillips  that 
first  impressed  Ira  D.  Sankey  with  the  amazing 
power  of  evangelical  solo  song,  and  helped  him 
years  later  to  resign  his  lucrative  business  as  a 
revenue  officer  and  consecrate  his  own  rare  vocal 
gift  to  the  Christian  ministry  of  sacred  music. 
Heaven  alone  can  show  the  birth-records  of  souls 
won  to  God  all  along  the  journeys  of  the  "Singing 
Pilgrims,"  and  the  rich  succession  of  Mr.  Sankey's 
melodies,  that  can  be  traced  back  by  a  chain  of 
causes  to  the  poem  that  "wrote  itself"  and  became 
a  hymn.  And  the  chain  may  not  yet  be  complete. 
In  the  words  of  that  providential  poem — 

Though  they  may  forget  the  singer 
They  will  not  forget  the  song. 

Mrs.  Ellen  M.  H.  Gates,  whose  reputation  as  an 
author  was  made  by  this  beautiful  and  always 
timely  poem,  was  born  in  Torrington,  Ct.,  and  is 
the  youngest  sister  of  the  late  CoUis  P.  Huntington. 
Her  hymns — included  in  this  volume  and  in  other 
publications — are  much  admired  and  loved,  both 
for  their  sweetness  and  elevated  religious  feeling, 
and  for  their  poetic  quality.  Among  her  published 
books  of  verse  are  "Night,"  "At  Noontide,"  and 
"Treasures  of  Kurium."  Her  address  is  New 
York  City. 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  259 

THE    TUNE. 

Sidney  Martin  Grannis,  author  of  the  tune,  was 
born  Sept.  23,  1827,  ^"  Geneseo,  Livingston  county, 
N.Y.  Lived  in  Leroy,  of  the  same  state,  from 
1 83 1  to  1884,  when  he  removed  to  Los  Angeles, 
Cal.,  where  several  of  his  admirers  presented  him 
a  cottage  and  grounds,  which  at  last  accounts  he 
still  occupies.  Mr.  Grannis  won  his  first  reputa- 
tion as  a  popular  musician  by  his  song  "Do  They 
Miss  Me  at  Home,  "and  his  "  Only  Waiting," 
"Cling  to  the  Union,"  and  "People  Will  Talk  You 
Know,"  had  an  equally  wide  currency.  As  a  solo 
singer  his  voice  was  remarkable,  covering  a  range 
of  two  octaves,  and  while  travelling  with  members 
of  the  "Amphion  Troupe,"  to  which  he  belonged, 
he  sang  at  more  than  five  thousand  concerts. 
His  tune  to  "Your  Mission"  was  composed  in  New 
Haven,  Ct.,  in   1864. 

"TOO  LATE!  TOO  LATE!  YE  CANNOT  ENTER  NOW." 

"Too  Late"  is  a  thrilling  fragment  or  side-song 
of  Alfred  Tennyson's,  representing  the  vain  plea 
of  the  five  Foolish  Virgins.  Its  tune  bears  the 
name  of  a  London  lady,  "Miss  Lindsay"  (after- 
wards Mrs.  J.  Worthington  Bliss).  The  arrange- 
ment of  air,  duo  and  quartet  is  very  impressive*. 

**Late,  late,  so  late!  and  dark  the  night  and  chill: 
Late,  late,  so  late!  but  we  can  enter  still." 
"Too  late!  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now!" 

*Methodfst  Hymnal,  No.  743. 


26o  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"No  light!  so  late!  and  dark  and  chill  the  night — 
O  let  us  in  that  we  may  find  the  light!" 
"Too  late!  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now!" 

4c     *     *     4:     :tc     ^ 

"Have  we  not  heard  the  Bridegroom  Is  so  sweet? 
O  let  us  in  that  we  may  kiss  his  feet!" 
"No,  No — !  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now!" 

The  words  are  found  in  "Queen  Guinevere,"  a 
canto  of  the  "Idyls  of  the  King." 

"OH,  GALILEE,  SWEET  GALILEE. " 

This  is  the  chorus  of  a  charming  poem  of  three 
stanzas  that  shaped  itself  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Robert  Morris  while  sitting  over  the  ruins  on  the 
traditional  site  of  Capernaum  by  the  Lake  of 
Genneseret. 

Each  cooing  dove,  each  sighing  bough. 
That  makes  the  eve  so  blest  to  me, 

Has  something  far  diviner  now. 
It  bears  me  back  to  Gahlee. 

Chorus 

Oh,  Galilee,  sweet  Galilee, 

Where  Jesus  loved  so  much  to  be; 

Oh,  Galilee,  blue  Galilee, 

Come  sing  thy  song  again  to  me. 

Robert  Morris,  LL.D.,  born  Aug.  31,  18 18, 
was  a  scholar,  and  an  expert  in  certain  scientific 
subjects,  and  wrote  works  on  numismatics  and  the 
*'  Poetry  of  Free  Masonry.*'  Commissioned  to 
Palestine  in  1868  on  historic  and  archeological 
service    for    the    United    Order,  he   explored    the 


CHRISTIAN    BALLADS.  261 

scenes  of  ancient  Jewish  and  Christian  Hfe  and 
event  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  being  a  religious  man, 
followed  the  Saviour's  earthly  footsteps  with  a 
reverent  zeal  that  left  its  inspiration  with  him 
while  he  lived.  He  died  in  the  year  1888,  but  his 
Christian  ballad  secured  him  a  lasting  place  in 
every  devout  memory. 

THE  TUNE, 

The  author  wrote  out  his  hymn  in  1874  and 
sent  it  to  his  friend,  the  musician,  Mr.  Horatio  R. 
Palmer,*  and  the  latter  learned  it  by  heart,  and 
carried  it  with  him  in  his  musings  "till  it  floated  out 
in  the  melody  you  know,"  (to  use  his  own  words.) 

♦See  page  311. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


OLD  REVIVAL  HYMNS. 


The  sober  churches  of  the  "Old  Thirteen" 
states  and  of  their  successors  far  into  the  nineteenth 
century,  sustained  evening  prayer-meetings  more 
or  less  commonly,  but  necessity  made  them  in 
most  cases  "cottage  meetings,"  appointed  on 
Sunday  and  here  and  there  in  the  scattered  homes 
of  country  parishes.  Their  intent  was  the  same 
as  that  of  "revival  meetings,"  since  so  called, 
though  the  method — and  the  music — ^were  dif- 
erent.  The  results  in  winning  sinners,  so  far  as 
they  owed  anything  to  the  hymns  and  hymn- 
tunes,  were  apt  to  be  a  new^  generation  of  Christian 
recruits  as  sombre  as  the  singing.  "Lebanon" 
set  forth  the  appalling  shortness  of  human  life; 
"Windham"  gave  its  depressing  story  of  the  great 
majority  of  mankind  on  the  "broad  road,"  and 
other  minor  tunes  proclaimed  God's  sovereignty 
and  eternal  decrees;  or  if  a  psalm  had  His  love  in 
it,  it  was  likely  to  be  sung  in  a  similar  melancholy 
key.  Even  in  his  gladness  the  good  minister, 
Thomas  Baldwin,  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church, 

(262) 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  263 

at  Boston,  North  End,  returning  from  Newport, 
N.  H.,  where  he  had  happily  harmonized  a  dis- 
cordant church,  could  not  escape  the  strait-lace 
of  a  C  minor  for  his  thankful  hymn — 

From  whence  doth  this  union  arise, 
That  hatred  is  conquered  by  love. 

"The  Puritans  took  their  pleasures  seriously," 
and  this  did  not  cease  to  be  true  till  at  least  two 
hundred  years  after  the  Pilgrims  landed  or  Boston 
was  founded. 

Time,  that  covered  the  ghastly  faces  on  the  old 
grave-stones  with  moss,  gradually  stole  away  the 
unction  of  minor-tune  singing. 

The  songs  of  the  great  revival  of  1740  swept  the 
country  with  positive  rather  than  negative  music. 
Even  Jonathan  Edwards  admitted  the  need  of  bet- 
ter psalm-books  and  better  psalmody. 

Edwards,  during  his  life,  spent  some  time  among 
the  Indians  as  a  missionary  teacher;  but  probably 
neither  he  nor  David  Brainerd  ever  saw  a  Christian 
hymn  composed  by  an  Indian.  The  following, 
from  the  early  years  of  the  last  century,  is  appar- 
ently the  first,  certainly  the  only  surviving,  effort 
of  a  converted  but  half-educated  red  man  to  utter 
his  thoughts  in  pious  metre.  Whoever  trimmed 
the  original  words  and  measure  into  printable 
shape  evidently  took  care  to  preserve  the  broken 
English  of  the  simple  convert.  It  is  an  interesting 
relic  of  the  Christian  thought  and  sentiment  of  a 
pagan  just  learning  to  prattle  prayer  and  praise: 


264         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

In  de  dark  wood,  no  Indian  nigh, 
Den  me  look  heaben,  send  up  cry. 

Upon  my  knees  so  low. 
Dat  God  on  high,  in  shinee  place, 
See  me  in  night,  with  teary  face, 

De  priest,  he  tell  me  so. 

God  send  Him  angel  take  me  care; 
Him  come  Heself  and  hear  um  prayer, 

If  Indian  heart  do  pray. 
God  see  me  now,  He  know  me  here. 
He  say,  poor  Indian,  neber  fear. 

Me  wid  you  night  and  day. 

So  me  lub  God  wid  inside  heart; 
He  fight  for  me,  He  take  my  part. 

He  save  my  life  before. 
God  lub  poor  Indian  in  de  wood; 
So  me  lub  God,  and  dat  be  good; 

Me  pray  Him  two  times  more. 

When  me  be  old,  me  head  be  gray. 
Den  He  no  lebe  me,  so  He  say: 

Me  wid  you  till  you  die. 
Den  take  me  up  to  shinee  place. 
See  white  man,  red  man,  black  man's  face. 

All  happy  'like  on  high. 

Few  days,  den  God  will  come  to  me. 
He  knock  off  chains.  He  set  me  free. 

Den  take  me  up  on  high. 
Den  Indian  sing  His  praises  blest. 
And  lub  and  praise  Him  wid  de  rest. 

And  neber,  neber  cry. 

The  above  hymn,  which  may  be  found  in  dif- 
ferent forms  in  old  New  England  tracts  and  hymn- 
books,  and  which  used  to  be  sung  in  Methodist  con- 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  265 

ference  and  prayer-meetings  in  the  same  v^ay  that 
old  slave-hymns  and  the  *' Jubilee  Singers'*  re- 
frains are  sometimes  sung  now,  was  composed  by 
William  Apes,  a  converted  Indian,  who  was  born 
in  Massachusetts,  in  1798.  His  father  was  a  white 
man,  but  married  an  Indian  descended  from  the 
family  of  King  Philip,  the  Indian  warrior,  and  the 
last  of  the  Indian  chiefs.  His  grandmother  was  the 
king's  granddaughter,  as  he  claimed,  and  was  fa- 
mous for  her  personal  beauty.  He  caused  his  auto- 
biography and  religious  experience  to  be  published. 
The  original  hymn  is  quite  long,  and  contains  some 
singular  and  characteristic  expressions. 

The  authorship  of  the  tune  to  which  the  words 
Were  sung  has  been  claimed  for  Samuel  Cowdell,  a 
schoolmaster  of  Annapolis  Valley,  Nova  Scotia, 
1820,  but  the  date  of  the  lost  tune  was  probably 
much  earlier 

In  the  early  days  of  New  England,  before  the 
Indian  missions  had  been  brought  to  an  end  by  the 
sweeping  away  of  the  tribes,  several  fine  hymns 
were  composed  by  educated  Indians,  and  were 
used  in  the  churches.  The  best  known  is  that  be- 
ginning— 

When  shall  we  all  meet  again  ? 

It  was  composed  by  three  Indians  at  the  planting 
of  a  memorial  pine  on  leaving  Dartmouth  College, 
where  they  had  been  studying.  The  lines  indicate 
an  expectation  of  missionary  life  and  work. 

When  shall  we  all  meet  again  ? 
When  shall  we  all  meet  again  ? 


266         STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Oft  shall  glowing  hope  expire, 
Oft  shall  wearied  love  retire, 
Oft  shall  death  and  sorrow  reign 
Ere  we  all  shall  meet  again. 

Though  in  distant  lands  we  sigh, 
Parched  beneath  a  burning  sky, 
Though  the  deep  between  us  rolls. 
Friendship  shall  unite  our  souls; 
And  in  fancy's  wide  domain. 
There  we  all  shall  meet  again. 

When  these  burnished  locks  are  gray. 
Thinned  by  many  a  toil-spent  day, 
When  around  this  youthful  pine 
Moss  shall  creep  and  ivy  twine, 
(Long  may  this  loved  bower  remain!) 
Here  may  we  all  meet  again. 

When  the  dreams  of  life  are  fled, 
When  its  wasted  lamps  are  dead, 
When  in  cold  oblivion's  shade 
Beauty,  health,  and  strength  are  laid. 
Where  immortal  spirits  reign, 
There  we  all  shall  meet  again. 

This  parting  piece  was  sung  in  religious  meet- 
ings as  a  hymn,  like  the  other  once  so  common,  but 
later, — 

*'When  shall  we  meet  again. 
Meet  ne'er  to  sever  r' 

— to  a  tune  in  B  flat  minor, excessively  plaintive,  and 
likely  to  sadden  an  emoional  singer  or  hearer  to 
tears.  The  full  harmony  is  found  in  the  American 
Vocalist,  and  the  air  is  reprinted  in  the  Revivalist 
(1868).     The  fact  that  minor  music  is  the  natural 


I 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  267 

Indian  tone  in  song  makes  it  probable  that  the 
melody  is  as  ancient  as  the  hymn — though  no  date 
is  given  for  either. 

Tradition  says  that  nearly  fifty  years  later  the 
same  three  Indians  v^ere  providentially  drawn  to 
the  spot  w^here  they  parted,  and  met  again,  and 
v^hile  they  v^ere  together  composed  and  sang  an- 
other ode.  Truth  to  tell,  however,  it  had  only  one 
note  of  gladness,  and  that  was  in  the  first  stanza: 

Parted  many  a  toil-spent  year, 
Pledged  in  youth  to  memory  dear, 
Still  to  friendship's  magnet  true, 
We  our  social  joys  renew; 
Bound  by  love's  unsevered  chain. 
Here  on  earth  we  meet  again. 

The  remaining  three  stanzas  dwell  principally  on 
the  ravages  time  has  made .  The  reunion  ode  of  those 
stoical  college  classmates  of  a  stoical  race  could 
have  been  sung  in  the  same  B  flat  minor. 

"AWAKED  BY  SINAI'S  AWFUL  SOUND.'* 

The  name  of  the  Indian,  Samson  Occum,  who 
wrote  this  hymn  (variously  spelt  Ockom,  Ockum, 
Occam,  Occom)  is  not  borne  by  any  public  insti- 
tution, but  New  England  owes  the  foundation  of 
Dartmouth  College  to  his  hard  work.  Dartmouth 
College  was  originally  "Moore's  Indian  Charity 
School,"  organized  (1750)  in  Lebanon,  Ct.,  by  Rev. 
Eleazer  Wheelock  and  endowed  (1755)  by  Joshua 
Moore  (or  More).     Good  men  and  women  who 


268  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

had  at  heart  the  spiritual  welfare  of  a  fading  race 
contributed  to  the  school's  support  and  young 
Indians  resorted  to  it  from  both  New  England  and 
the  Middle  States,  but  funds  were  insufficient,  and 
it  was  foreseen  that  the  charity  must  inevitably 
outgrow  its  missionary  purpose  and  if  continued  at 
all  must  depend  on  a  wider  and  more  liberal  pat- 
ronage. 

Samson  Occum  was  born  in  Mohegan,  New 
London  Co.,  Ct.,  probably  in  the  year  1722.  Con- 
verted from  paganism  in  1740  (possibly  under  the 
preaching  of  Whitefield,  who  was  in  this  country 
at  that  time)  he  desired  to  become  a  missionary  to 
his  people,  and  entered  Eleazer  Wheelock's  school. 
After  four  years  study,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
two,  he  began  to  teach  and  preach  among  the  Mon- 
tauk  Indians,  and  in  1759  the  Presbytery  of  Suffolk 
Co.,  L.  I.,  ordained  him  to  the  ministry.  A  benevo- 
lent society  in  Scotland,  hearing  of  his  ability  and 
zeal,  gave  him  an  appointment,  under  its  auspices, 
among  the  Oneidas  in  1761,  where  he  labored 
four  years.  The  interests  of  the  school  at  Lebanon, 
where  he  had  been  educated,  were  dear  to  him,  and 
he  was  tireless  in  its  cause,  procuring  pupils  for  it, 
and  working  eloquently  as  its  advocate  with  voice 
and  pen.  In  1765  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  so- 
licit funds  for  the  Indian  school,  and  remained 
four  years  in  England  and  Scotland,  lecturing  in  its 
behalf,  and  preaching  nearly  four  hundred  ser- 
mons. As  a  result  he  raised  ten  thousand  pounds. 
The  donation  was  put  in   charge  of  a  Board  of 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  269 

Trustees  of  which  Lord  Dartmouth  wzs  chairman. 
When  it  wzs  decided  to  remove  the  school  from 
Lebanon,  Ct.,  the  efforts  of  Governor  Wentworth,  of 
New  Hampshire,  secured  its  location  at  Hanover  in 
that  state.  It  was  christened  after  Lord  Dartmouth 
— and  the  names  of  Occum,  Moore  and  Wheelock 
retired  into  the  encyclopedias. 

The  Rev.  Samson  Occum  died  in  1779,  while 
laboring  among  the  Stockbridge  (N.  Y.)  Indians. 
Several  hymns  were  written  by  this  remarkable 
man,  and  also  "An  Account  of  the  Customs  and 
Manners  of  the  Montauks. "  The  hymn, "  Awaked 
by  Sinai's  Awful  Sound,"  set  to  the  stentorian  tune 
of  "Ganges,"  was  a  tremendous  sermon  in  itself 
to  old-time  congregations,  and  is  probably  as  indic- 
ative of  the  doctrines  which  converted  its  writer  as 
of  the  cotemporary  belief  prominent  in  choir  and 
pulpit. 

Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound, 

My  soul  in  bonds  of  guilt  I  found, 
And  knew  not  where  to  go. 

Eternal  truth  did  loud  proclaim 

"The  sinner  must  be  born  again, 
Or  sink  in  endless  woe." 

When  to  the  law  I  trembling  fled, 
It  poured  its  curses  on  my  head: 

I  no  relief  could  find. 
This  fearful  truth  increased  my  pain, 
"The  sinner  must  be  born  again," 

And  whelmed  my  troubled  mind. 

+  **%** 


270  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

But  while  I  thus  in  anguish  lay, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  passed  that  way; 

I  felt  His  pity  move. 
The  sinner,  once  by  justice  slain, 
Now  by  His  grace  is  born  again. 

And  sings  eternal  Love! 

The  rugged  original  has  been  so  often  and  so 
variously  altered  and  ** toned  down,"  that  only  a 
few  unusually  accurate  aged  memories  can  re- 
call it.  The  hymn  began  going  out  of  use  fifty 
years  ago,  and  is  now  seldom  seen. 

The  name  "S.  Chandler,"  attached  to  "Ganges," 
leaves  the  identity  of  the  composer  in  shadow.  It 
is  supposed  he  was  born  in  1760.  The  tune  ap- 
peared about  1790. 

''WHERE  NOW  ARE  THE  HEBREW  CHILDREN  ?" 

This  quaint  old  unison,  repeating  the  above  three 
times,  followed  by  the  answer  (thrice  repeated)  and 
climaxed  with — 

Safely  in  the  Promised  Land, 

— was  a  favorite  at  ancient  camp-meetings,  and  a 
good  leader  could  keep  it  going  in  a  congregation 
or  a  happy  group  of  vocalists,  improvising  a  new 
start-line  after  every  stop  until  his  memory  or  in- 
vention gave  out. 

They  went  up  from  the  fiery  furnace, 
They  went  up  from  the  fiery  furnace, 
They  went  up  from  the  fiery  furnace, 
Safely  to  the  Promised  Land. 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  2/1 

Sometimes  it  was — 

Where  now  is  the  good  Elijah  ? 

— and, — 

He  went  up  in  a  chariot  of  fire; 

— and  again, — 

Where  now  is  the  good  old  Daniel  ? 

He  went  up  from  the  den  of  lions; 

— and  so  on,  finally  announcing — 

By  and  by  we'll  go  home  for  to  meet  him,  [three  times] 
Safely  in  the  Promised  Land. 

The  enthusiasm  excited  by  the  swinging  rhythm  of 
the  tune  sometimes  rose  to  a  passionate  pitch,  and 
it  was  seldom  used  in  the  more  controlled  relig- 
ious assemblies.  If  any  attempt  was  ever  made  to 
print  the  song*  the  singers  had  little  need  to  read 
the  music.  Like  the  ancient  runes,  it  came  into 
being  by  spontaneous  generation,  and  lived  in  pho- 
netic tradition. 

A  strange,  wild  paean  of  exultant  song  was  one 
often  heard  from  Peter  Cartwright,  the  muscular 
circuit-preacher.  A  remembered  fragment  shows 
its  quality: 

Then  my  soul  mounted  higher 

In  a  chariot  of  fire, 
And  the  moon  it  was  under  my  feet. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  he  sang  it  over  a  stalwart 
blacksmith  while  chastising  him  for  an  ungodly  de- 

*Mr.  Hubert  P.  Main  believes  he  once  saw  "The  Hebrew  Children"  in 
print  in  one  of  Horace  Waters'  editions  of  the  Sabbath  Bell. 


272  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

fiance  and  assault  in  the  course  of  one  of  his  gospel 
journeys — and  that  the  defeated  blacksmith  became 
his  friend  and  follower. 

Peter  Cartwright  was  born  in  Amherst  county, 
Va.,  Sept.  I,  1785,  and  died  near  Pleasant  Plains, 
Sangamon  county,  111.,  Sept.,  1872. 

"THE  EDEN  OF  LOVE.'* 

This  song,  written  early  in  the  last  century,  by 
John  J.  Hicks,  recalls  the  name  of  the  eccentric 
traveling  evangelist,  Lorenzo  Dow,  born  in  Co- 
ventry, Ct.,  October  16,  1777;  died  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  Feb.  2,  1834.  It  was  the  favorite  hymn  of  his 
wife,  the  beloved  Peggy  Dow,  and  has  furnished 
the  key-word  of  more  than  one  devotional  rhyme 
that  has  uplifted  the  toiling  souls  of  rural  evan- 
gelists and  their  greenwood  congregations: 

How  sweet  to  reflect  on  the  joys  that  await  me 

In  yon  blissful  region,  the  haven  of  rest, 
Where  glorified  spirits  with  welcome  shall  greet  me, 

And  lead  me  to  mansions  prepared  for  the  blest. 
There,  dwelling  in  light,  and  with  glory  enshrouded, 

My  happiness  perfect,  my  mind's  sky  unclouded, 
I'll  bathe  in  the  ocean  of  pleasure  unbounded. 

And  range  with  delight  through  the  Eden  of  love. 

The  words  and  tune  were  printed  in  Leaviti's 
Christian  Lyre,  1830. 

The  same  strain  in  the  same  metre  is  continued  in 
the  hymn  of  Rev.  Wm.  Hunter,  D.  D.,  (1842)  printed 
in  his  Minstrel  of  Zion  (1845).  J*  ^'  Dadmun's 
Melodian  (i860)  copied  it,  retaining,  apparently, 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  273 

the  original  music,  with  an  added  refrain  of  invita- 
tion, ''Will  you  go  ?  will  you  go  ?" 

We  are  bound  for  the  land  of  the  pure  and  the  holy, 
The  home  of  the  happy,  the  kingdom  of  love; 

Ye  wand'rers  from  God  on  the  broad  road  of  folly, 
O  say,  will  you  go  to  the  Eden  above  ? 

The  old  hymn-tune  has  a  brisk  out-door  delivery, 
and  is  full  of  revival  fervor  and  the  ozone  of  the 
pines. 

*'0  CANA-AN,  BRIGHT  CANA-AN^* 

Was  one  of  the  stimulating  melodies  of  the  old-time 
awakenings,  which  were  simply  airs,  and  were  sung 
unisonously.  "OCana-an"  (pronounced  in  three 
syllables)  was  the  chorus,  the  hymn-lines  being 
either  improvised  or  picked  up  miscellaneously 
from  memory,  the  interline,  "I  am  bound  for  the 
land  of  Cana-an,''  occurring  between  every  two. 
John  Wesley's  "How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot" 
was  one  of  the  snatched  stanzas  swept  into  the 
current  of  the  song.  An  example  of  the  tune- 
leader's  improvisations  to  keep  the  hymn  going 
was — 

If  you  get  there  before  I  do, — 

/  am  hound  for  the  land  of  Cana-an! 

Look  out  for  me,  I'm  coming  too — 
/  am  hound  for  the  land  of  Cana-an! 

And  then  hymn  and  tune  took  possession  of  the 
assembly  and  rolled  on  in  a  circle  with — 

0  Cana-an,  bright  Cana-an! 

1  am  bound  for  the  land  of  Cana-an; 


274  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

0  Cana-an  it  is  my  hap-py  home, 

1  am  bound  for  the  land  of  Cana-an 

— till  the  voices  came  back  to  another  starting-line 
and  began  again.  There  was  always  a  movement 
to  the  front  when  that  tune  was  sung,  and — with  all 
due  abatement  for  superficial  results  in  the  sen- 
sation of  the  moment — it  is  undeniable  that  many 
souls  were  truly  born  into  the  kingdom  of  God  un- 
der the  sound  of  that  rude  woodland  song. 

Both  its  words  and  music  are  credited  to  Rev.  John 
Maffit,  who  probably  wrote  the  piece  about  1829. 

"A  CHARGE  TO  KEEP  I  HAVE. " 

This  hymn  of  Charles  Wesley  was  often  heard 
at  the  camp  grounds,  from  the  rows  of  tents  in  the 
morning  while  the  good  women  prepared  their 
pancakes  and  coffee,  and 

THE   TUNE. 

was  invariably  old  "Kentucky,"  by  Jeremiah  In- 
galls.  Sung  as  a  solo  by  a  sweet  and  spirited  voice,  it 
slightly  resembled  "Golden  Hill,"  but  oftener  its 
halting  bars  invited  a  more  draw^ling  style  of  execu- 
tion unworthy  of  a  hymn  that  merits  a  tune  like 
"St.Thomas." 

Old  "Kentucky"  was  not  field  music. 

"CHRISTIANS,  IF  YOUR  HEARTS  ARE  WARM." 

Elder  John  Leland,  born  in  Grafton,  Mass.,  1 754, 
was  not  only  a  strenuous  personality  in  the  Baptist 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  275 

denomination,  but  was  well  known  everywhere  in 
New  England,  and,  in  fact,  his  preaching  trip  to 
Washington  (1801)  w^ith  the  "Cheshire  Cheese" 
made  his  fame  national.  He  is  spoken  of  as  "the 
minister  who  wrote  his  own  hymns" — a  peculiarity 
In  which  he  imitated  Watts  and  Doddridge.  When 
some  natural  shrinking  was  manifest  in  converts  of 
his  winter  revivals,  under  his  rigid  rule  of  imme- 
diate baptism,  he  wrote  this  hymn  to  fortify  them: 

Christians,  if  your  hearts  are  warm, 
Ice  and  cold  can  do  no  harm; 
If  by  Jesus  you  are  prized 
Rise,  believe  and  be  baptized. 

He  found  use  for  the  hymn,  too.  In  rallying 
church-members  who  staid  away  from  his  meetings 
In  bad  weather.  The  "poetry"  expressed  what  he 
wanted  to  say — which,  in  his  view,  was  sufficient 
apology  for  it.  It  was  sung  in  revival  meetings  like 
others  that  he  wrote,  and  a  few  hymnbooks  now 
long  obsolete  contained  It;  but  of  Leland's  hymns 
only  one  survives.  Gray-headed  men  and  women 
remember  being  sung  to  sleep  by  their  mothers 
with  that  old-fashioned  evening  song  to  Amzi 
Chapln's*  tune — 

The  day  is  past  and  gone, 

The  evening  shades  appear, 
O  may  we  all  remember  well 

The  night  of  death  draws  near; 

*Amzi  Chapin  has  left,  apparently,  nothing  more  than  the  record  of  his 
birth,  March  2,  1768,  and  the  memory  of  his  tune.  It  appeared  as  early  as 
1805. 


276         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

— and  with  all  its  solemnity  and  other-worldness  it 
is  dear  to  recollection,  and  its  five  stanzas  are  lov- 
ingly hunted  up  in  the  (ev/  hymnals  where  it  is  found. 
BT2idhury's"  Bidden,''  {Baptist  Praise  Book,  1873,) 
is  one  of  its  tunes. 

Elder  Leland  was  a  remarkable  revival  preacher, 
and  his  prayers — as  was  said  of  Elder  Jabez  Swan's 
fifty  or  sixty  years  later — "brought  heaven  and 
earth  together.''  He  traveled  through  the  Eastern 
States  as  an  evangelist,  and  spent  a  season  in 
Virginia  in  the  same  work.  In  1801  he  revisited 
that  region  on  a  curious  errand.  The  farmers  of 
Cheshire,  Mass.,  where  Leland  was  then  a  settled 
pastor,  conceived  the  plan  of  sending  "the  biggest 
cheese  in  America"  to  President  Jefferson,  and 
Leland  (who  was  a  good  democrat)  offered  to  go 
to  Washington  on  an  ox-team  with  it,  and  "  preach 
all  the  way" — which  he  actually  did. 

The  cheese  weighed  1450  lbs. 

Elder  Leland  died  in  North  Adams,  Mass.,  Jan. 
14,  1844.  Another  of  his  hymns,  which  deserved  to 
live  with  his  "Evening  Song,"  seemed  to  be  answered 
in  the  brightness  of  his  death-bed  hope: 

O  when  shall  I  see  Jesus 
And  reign  with  Him  above, 

And  from  that  flowing  fountain 
Drink  everlasting  love .? 

"AWAKE,  MY  SOUL,  TO  JOYFUL  LAYS." 

This  glad  hymn  of  Samuel  Medley  is  his  thanks- 
giving song,  written  soon  after  his  conversion.    In 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  2/7 

the  places  of  rural  v^^orshlp  no  lay  of  Christian 
praise  and  gratitude  was  ever  more  heartily  sung 
than  this  at  the  testimony  meetings. 

Awake,  my  soul,  to  joyful  lays, 
And  sing  thy  great  Redeemer's  praise; 
He  justly  claims  a  song  from  me: 
His  loving-kindness,  oh,  how  free! 
Loving-kindness,  loving-kindness. 
His  loving-kindness,  oh,  how  free! 

THE    TUNE, 

With  its  queer  curvet  in  every  second  line,  had  no 
other  name  than  "Loving-Kindness,"  and  w^as 
probably  a  camp-meeting  melody  in  use  for  some 
time  before  its  publication.  It  is  found  in  Leavitt' s 
Christian  Lyre  as  early  as  1830.  The  name 
"William  Caldwell"  is  all  that  is  known  of  its  com- 
poser, though  he  is  supposed  to  have  lived  in 
Tennessee. 

"THE  LORD  INTO  HIS  GARDEN  COMES." 

Was  a  common  old-time  piece  sure  to  be  heard  at 
every  religious  rally,  and  every  one  present,  saint  and 
sinner,  had  it  by  heart,  or  at  least  the  chorus  of  it — 

Amen,  amen,  my  soul  replies, 
I'm  bound  to  meet  you  in  the  skies. 
And  claim  my  mansion  there,  etc. 

The  anonymous*  "Garden   Hymn,  as  old,  at 


*A  "Rev."  Mr.  Campbell,  author  of  "The  Glorious  Light  of  Zion,"  "There 
is  a  Holy  City,"  and  "There  is  a  Land  of  Pleasure,"  has  been  sometimes 
credited  with  the  origin  of  the  Garden  Hymn. 


278  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

least,  as  1800,"  has  nearly  passed  out  of  reach, 
except  by  the  long  arm  of  the  antiquary;  but  it 
served  its  generation. 

Its  vigorous  tune  is  credited  to  Jeremiah  Ingalls 

(1764-1838). 

The  Lord  Into  His  garden  comes; 
The  spices  yield  a  rich  perfume, 

The  liHes  grow  and  thrive, 

The  hhes  grow  and  thrive. 
Refreshing  showers  of  grace  divine 
From  Jesus  flow  to  every  vine, 

Which  makes  the  dead  revive. 

Which  makes  the  dead  revive. 

"THE  CHARIOT!    THE  CHARIOT!" 

Henry  Hart  Milman,  generally  known  as  Dean 
Milman,  was  born  in  1791,  and  w^as  educated  at 
Oxford.  In  1821  he  was  installed  as  university 
professor  of  poetry  at  Oxford,  and  it  was  while 
filling  this  position  that  he  wrote  this  celebrated 
hymn,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Last  Day."  It  is  not 
only  a  hymn,  but  a  poem — a  sublime  ode  that  re- 
calls, in  a  different  movement,  the  tones  of  the 
"Dies  Irae.'' 

Dean  Milman  (of  St  Paul's),  besides  his  many 
striking  poems  and  learned  historical  works,  wrote 
at  least  twelve  hymns,  among  which  are — 

Ride  on,  ride  on  in  majesty, 

O  help  us  Lord;  each  hour  of  need 
Thy  heavenly  succor  give. 

When  our  heads  are  bowed  with  woe. 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  279 

— which  last  may  have  been  written  soon  after  he  laid 
three  of  his  children  in  one  grave,  in  the  north 
aisle  of  Westminister  Abbey.  He  lived  a  laborious 
and  useful  life  of  seventy-seven  years,  dying  Sept. 
24, 1868. 

There  were  times  in  the  old  revivals  when  the 
silver  clarion  of  the  "Chariot  Hymn"  must  needs 
replace  the  ruder  blast  of  Occum  in  old  "Ganges" 
and  sinners  unmoved  by  the  invisible  God  of  Horeb 
be  made  to  behold  Him —  in  a  vision  of  the  "  Last 
Day." 

The  Chariot!  the  Chariot!  its  wheels  roll  in  fire 
When  the  Lord  cometh  down  in  the  pomp  of  His  ire, 
Lo,  self-moving,  it  drives  on  its  pathway  of  cloud, 
And  the  heavens  with  the  burden  of  Godhead  are  bowed. 

He     4:     He     4:     *     H: 

The  Judgment!  the  Judgment!  the  thrones  are  all  set, 
Where  the  Lamb  and  the  white-vested  elders  are  met; 
There  all  flesh  is  at  once  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
And  the  doom  of  eternity  hangs  on  His  word. 

The  name  "Williams"  or  "J.Williams"  is  attached 
to  various  editions  of  the  trumpet-like  tune,  but 
so  far  no  guide  book  gives  us  location,  date  or  sketch 
of  the  composer. 

"COME,  MY  BRETHREN. " 

Another  of  the  "unstudied"  revival  hymns  of 
invitation. 

Come,  my  brethren,  let  us  try 

For  a  little  season 
Every  burden  to  lay  by, 
Come  and  let  us  reason. 


28o         STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

What  is  this  that  casts  you  down, 

What  is  this  that  grieves  you  ? 
Speak  and  let  your  wants  be  known; 

Speaking  may  relieve  you. 

This  colloquial  rhyme  was  apt  to  be  started  by 
some  good  brother  or  sister  in  one  of  the  chill) 
pauses  of  a  prayer-meeting.  The  air  (there  was 
never  anything  more  to  it)  with  a  range  of  only  a 
fifth,  slurred  the  last  syllable  of  every  second  line, 
giving  the  quaint  effect  of  a  bent  note,  and  al- 
together the  music  was  as  homely  as  the  verse.  Both 
are  anonymous.  But  the  little  chant  sometimes 
served  its  purpose  wonderfully  well. 

"BRETHREN,  WHILE  WE  SOJOURN  HERE." 

This  hymn  was  always  welcome  in  the  cottage 
meetings  as  well  as  in  the  larger  greenwood 
assemblies.  It  was  written  by  Rev.  Joseph  Swain, 
about  1783. 

Brethren,  while  we  sojourn  here 
Fight  we  must,  but  should  not  fear. 
Foes  we  have,  but  we've  a  Friend, 
One  who  loves  us  to  the  end; 
Forward  then  with  courage  go; 
Long  we  shall  not  dwell  below. 
Soon  the  joyful  news  will  come, 
* 'Child,  your  Father  calls,  'Come  home.'" 

The  tune  was  sometimes  "Pleyel's  Hymn,*' 
but  oftener  it  was  sung  to  a  melody  now  generally 
forgotten  of  much  the  same  movement  but  slurred 
in  peculiarly  sweet  and  tender  turns.    The  cadence 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  281 

of  the  last  tune  gave  the   refrain   line  a   melting 
effect : 

Child,  your  Father  calls,  "Come  home.  '* 

Some  of  the  spirit  of  this  old  tune  (in  the  few 
hymnals  v^here  the  hymn  is  now  printed)  is  pre- 
served in  Geo.  Kingsley's  "Messiah"  which  accom- 
panies the  words,  but  the  modulations  are  wanting. 

Joseph  Swain  was  born  in  Birmingham,  Eng. 
in  1 76 1.  Bred  among  mechanics,  he  was  early 
apprenticed  to  the  engraver's  trade,  but  he  was  a 
boy  of  poetic  temperament  and  fond  of  writing 
verses.  After  the  spiritual  change  which  brought 
a  new  purpose  into  his  life,  he  was  baptized  by  Dr. 
Rippon  and  studied  for  the  ministry.  At  the  age 
of  about  twenty-five,  he  was  settled  over  the  Baptist 
church  in  Walworth,  where  he  remained  till  his 
death,  April  i6,  1796. 

For  more  than  a  century  his  hymns  have  lived 
and  been  loved  in  all  the  English-speaking  world. 
Among  those  still  in  use  are — 

How  sweet,  how  heavenly  is  the  sight. 

Pilgrims  we  are  to  Canaan  bound, 

O  Thou  in  whose  presence  my  soul  takes  delight. 

"HAPPY    DAY." 

O  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice. 

— Doddridge. 
O  how  happy  are  they  who  the  Saviour  obey. 

— Charles  Wesley. 


282  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

These  were  voices  as  sure  to  be  heard  in  con- 
verts' meetings  as  the  leader's  prayer  or  text,  the 
former  sung  inevitably  to  Rimbault's  tune, 
"Happy  Day,"  and  the  latter  to  a  "Western  Mel- 
ody" quite  as  closely  akin  to  Wesley's  words. 

Edward  Francis  Rimbault,  born  at  Soho,  Eng., 
June  13,  18 16,  was  at  sixteen  years  of  age  organist 
at  the  Soho  Swiss  Church,  and  became  a  skilled 
though  not  a  prolific  composer.  He  once  received 
— and  declined — the  offer  of  an  appointment  as 
professor  of  music  in  Harvard  College.  Died  of  a 
lingering  illness  Sept.  26,  1876. 

*'COME,  HOLY  SPIRIT,  HEAVENLY  DOVE." 

—Watts. 

This  was  the  immortal  song-litany  that  fitted 
almost  anywhere  into  every  service.  The  Presby- 
terians and  Congregationalists  sang  it  in  Tansur's 
"St.  Martins,"  the  Baptists  in  William  Jones' 
"Stephens"  and  the  Methodists  in  Maxim's 
"Turner"  (which  had  the  most  music),  but  the 
hymn  went  about  as  well  with  one  as  with  another. 

The  Rev.  William  Jones  (i  726-1 800)  an  English 
rector,  and  Abraham  Maxim  of  Buckfield,  Me., 
(i 773-1829)  contributed  quite  a  liberal  share  of 
the  "continental"  tunes  popular  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  1 8th  century.  Maxim  was  eccentric,  but 
the  tradition  that  an  unfortunate  affair  of  the  heart 
once  drove  him  into  the  woods  to  make  away  with 
himself,  but  a  bird  on  the  roof  of  a  logger's  hut, 


OLD    REVIVAL  HYMNS.  283 

making  plaintive  sounds,  interrupted  him,  and  he 
sat  dow^n  and  wrote  the  tune  "Hallowell,"  on  a 
strip  of  white  birch  bark,  is  more  Hkely  legend- 
ary. The  following  words,  said  to  have  inspired 
his  minor  tune,  are  still  set  to  it  in  the  old  collec- 
tions ; 

As  on  some  lonely  building's  top 

The  sparrow  makes  her  moan, 
Far  from  the  tents  of  joy  and  hope 

I  sit  and  grieve  alone.* 

Maxim  was  fond  of  the  minor  mode,  but  his 
minors,  like  "Hallowell,"  "New  Durham,"  etc., 
are  things  of  the  past.  His  major  chorals  and 
fugues,  such  as  "Portland,"  "Buckfield,"  and 
"Turner"  had  in  them  the  spirit  of  healthier 
melody  and  longer  life.  He  published  at  least  two 
collections.  The  Oriental  Harmony,  in  1802,  and 
The  Northern  Harmony,  in  1 805. 

William  Tansur  (Tans-ur),  author  of  "St.  Mar- 
tins" (1669-1783),  was  an  organist,  composer,  com- 
piler, and  theoretical  writer.  He  was  born  at 
Barnes,  Surrey,  Eng.,  (according  to  one  account,) 
and  died  at  St.  Neot's. 

*^COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING." 

This  hymn  of  Rev.  Robert  Robinson  was  almost 
always  heard  in  the  tune  of  "Nettleton,"  com- 
posed  by   John  Wyeth,  about  1812.     The  more 

♦Versified  by  Nahum  Tate  from  Ps.  102:  7. 


284  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

wavy  melody  of  "Sicily'*  (or  "Sicilian  Hymn") 
sometimes  carried  the  verses,  but  never  with  the 
same  sympathetic  unction.  The  sing-song  move- 
ment and  accent  of  old  *'Nettleton"  made  it  the 
country  favorite. 

Robert  Robinson,  born  in  Norfolk,  Eng.,  Sept. 
27,  1735,  was  a  poor  boy,  left  fatherless  at  eight 
years  of  age,  and  apprenticed  to  a  barber,  but  was 
converted  by  the  preaching  of  Whitefield  and 
studied  till  he  obtained  a  good  education,  and  was 
ordained  to  the  Methodist  ministry.  He  is 
supposed  to  have  written  his  well-known  hymn  in 
1758.  A  certain  unsteadiness  of  mind,  however, 
caused  him  to  revise  his  religious  beliefs  too  often 
for  his  spiritual  health  or  enjoyment,  and  after 
preaching  as  a  Methodist,  a  Baptist,  and  an 
Independent,  he  finally  became  a  Socinian.  On 
a  stage-coach  journey,  when  a  lady  fellow-passen- 
ger began  singing  "Come,  Thou  Fount  of  Every 
Blessing,"  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  ride,  he 
said  to  her,  "Madam,  I  am  the  unhappy  man 
who  wrote  that  hymn  many  years  ago;  and  I 
would  give  a  thousand  worlds,  if  I  had  them,  if  I 
could  feel  as  I  felt  then." 

Robinson  died  June  9,  1790. 

John  Wyeth  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Mass., 
1792,  and  died  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  1858.  He  was 
a  musician  and  publisher,  and  issued  a  Music 
Book,  Wyeth^s  Repository  of  Sacred  Music, 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  285 

"A  POOR  WAYFARING  MAN  OF  GRIEF/* 

Written  by  James  Montgomery,  Dec,  1826,  was  a 
hymn  of  tide  and  headway  in  George  Coles'  tune  of 
**Duane  St.,"  with  a  step  that  made  every  heart 
beat  time.  The  four  picturesque  eight-Hne  stanzas 
made  a  practical  sermon  in  verse  and  song  from 
Matt.  25:35,  telHng  how— 

A  poor  wayfaring  man  of  grief 

Hath  often  crossed  me  on  my  way. 
Who  sued  so  humbly  for  relief 

That  I  could  never  answer  nay. 
I  had  no  power  to  ask  his  name, 

Whither  he  went  or  whence  he  came, 
Yet  there  was  something  in  his  eye 

That  won  my  love,  I  knew  not  why; 

— and  in  the  second  and  third  stanzas  the  narrator 
relates  how  he  entertained  him,  and  this  was  the 
sequel — 

Then  in  a  moment  to  my  view 
The  stranger  started  from  disguise 

The  token  in  His  hands  I  knew; 
My  Saviour  stood  before  my  eyes. 

When  once  that  song  was  started,  every  tongue 
took  it  up,  (and  it  was  strange  if  every  foot  did 
not  count  the  measure,)  and  the  coldest  kindled 
with  gospel  warmth  as  the  story  swept  on.* 

♦Montgomery's  poem,  "The  Stranger,"  has  seven  stanzas.    The  full  dra- 
matic effect  of  their  connection  could  only  be  produced  by  a  set  piece. 


286  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"WHEN  FOR  ETERNAL  WORLDS  I  STEER." 

It  was  no  solitary  experience  for  hearers  in  a 
house  of  prayer  where  the  famous  Elder  Swan  held 
the  pulpit,  to  feel  a  climactic  thrill  at  the  sudden 
breaking  out  of  the  eccentric  orator  with  this  song 
in  the  very  middle  of  his  sermon — 

When  for  eternal  worlds  I  steer, 
And  seas  are  calm  and  skies  are  clear, 
And  faith  in  lively  exercise. 
And  distant  hills  of  Canaan  rise, 
My  soul  for  joy  then  claps  her  wings, 
And  loud  her  lovely  sonnet  sings, 
"Vain  world,  adieu!" 

With  cheerful  hope  her  eyes  explore 
Each  landmark  on  the  distant  shore. 
The  trees  of  life,  the  pastures  green, 
The  golden  streets,  the  crystal  stream, 
Again  for  joy,  she  claps  her  wings. 
And  loud  her  lovely  sonnet  sings, 
"Vain  world,  adieu!" 

Elder  Jabez  Swan  was  born  in  Stonington,  Ct., 
Feb.  23,  1800,  and  died  1884.  ^^  ^"^^^  ^  tireless 
worker  as  a  pastor  (long  in  New  London,  Ct.,)  and 
a  still  harder  toiler  in  the  field  as  an  evangelist  and 
as  a  helper  eagerly  called  for  in  revivals;  and, 
through  all,  he  was  as  happy  as  a  boy  in  vacation. 
He  was  unlearned  in  the  technics  of  the  schools, 
but  always  eloquent  and  armed  with  ready  wit; 
unpolished,  but  poetical  as  a  Hebrew  prophet  and 
as  terrible  in  his  treatment  of  sin.  Scoffers  and 
"hoodlums'*  who  interrupted  him  in  his  meetings 
never  interrupted  him  but  once. 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  287 

The  more  Important  and  canonical  hymnals  and 
praise-books  had  no  place  for  *' Sonnet,"  as  the 
bugle-like  air  to  this  hymn  was  called.  Rev. 
Jonathan  Aldrich,  about  i860,  harmonized  it  in 
his  Sacred  Lyre,  but  this,  and  the  few  other  old 
vestry  and  field  manuals  that  contain  it,  were  com- 
piled before  it  became  the  fashion  to  date  and 
authenticate  hymns  and  tunes.  In  this  case  both 
are  anonymous.  Another  (and  probably  earlier) 
tune  sung  to  the  same  words  is  credited  to  "S. 
Arnold,"  and  appears  to  have  been  composed 
about  1790. 

"rM  A  PILGRIM,  AND  FM  A  STRANGER.'' 

This  hymn  still  lives — and  is  likely  to  live,  at 
least  in  collections  that  print  revival  music.  Mrs. 
Mary  Stanley  (Bunce)  Dana,  born  in  Beaufort, 
S.C.,  Feb.  15,  1810,  wrote  it  while  living  in  a 
northern  state,  where  her  husband  died.  By  the 
name  Dana  she  is  known  in  hymnology,  though 
she  afterwards  became  Mrs.  Shindler.  The  tune 
identified  with  the  hymn,  "I'm  a  Pilgrim,"  is 
untraced,  save  that  it  is  said  to  be  an  "Italian 
Air,"  and  that  its  original  title  was  "  Buono  Notte" 
(good  night). 

No  other  hymn  better  expresses  the  outreaching 
of  ardent  faith.  Its  very  repetitions  emphasize  and 
sweeten  the  vision  of  longed-for  fruition. 

I  can  tarry,  I  can  tarry  but  a  night, 
Do  not  detain  me,  for  I  am  going. 


288  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

There  the  sunbeams  are  ever  shining, 

O  my  longing  heart,  my  longing  heart  is  there. 

9|c    :4c    *    *    *    * 

Of  that  country  to  which  I'm  going. 
My  Redeemer,  my  Redeemer  is  the  light. 
There  is  no  sorrow,  nor  any  sighing, 
Nor  any  sin  there,  nor  any  dying, 
I'm  a  pilgrim,  etc. 

The  same  devout  poetess  also  wrote  (1840)  the 
once  popular  consolatory  hymn, — 

O  sing  to  me  of  heaven 
When  I'm  about  to  die, 

— sung  to  the  familiar  tune  by  Rev.  E.  W.  Dunbar; 
also  to  a  melody  composed  1854  by  Dr.  William 
Miller. 

The  line  w^as  first  written — 

When  /  am  called  to  die, 

— in  the  author's  copy.  The  hymn  (occasioned  by 
the  death  of  a  pious  friend)  was  written  Jan. 
15,  1840. 

Mrs.  Dana  (Shindler)  died  in  Texas,  Feb.  8, 
1883. 

**JOYFULLY,  JOYFULLY  ONWARD  I  MOVE." 

The  maker  of  this  hymn  has  been  confounded 
with  the  maker  of  its  tune — partly,  perhaps,  from 
the  fact  that  the  real  composer  of  the  tune  also 
wrote  hymns.  The  author  of  the  words  was  the 
Rev.  William  Hunter,  D.D.,  an  Irish-American, 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  289 

and  a  Methodist  minister.  He  v^as  born  near 
Ballymoney,  County  Antrim,  Ire.,  May,  1811,  and 
was  brought  to  America  when  a  child  six  years 
old.  He  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  Madison  College,  Hamilton,  N.  Y., 
(now  Madison  University),  and  was  successively 
a  pastor,  editor  and  Hebrew  professor.  Besides 
his  work  in  these  different  callings,  he  wrote  many 
helpful  hymns — in  all  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five — of  which  "Joyfully,  Joyfully,"  dated  1842, 
is  the  best.     It  began  originally  with  the  line, — 

Friends  fondly  cherished  have  passed  on  before, 
— and  the  line, — 

Home  to  the  land  of  delight  I  will  go, 
- — was  written, — 

Home  to  the  land  of  bright  spirits  I'll  go. 
Dr.  Hunter  died  in  Ohio,   1877. 

THE   TUNE. 

Rev.  Abraham  Dow  Merrill,  the  author  of  the 
music  to  this  triumphal  death-song,  was  born  in 
Salem,  N.  H.,  1796,  and  died  April  29,  1878.  He 
also  was  a  Methodist  minister,  and  is  still  every- 
where remembered  by  the  denomination  to  which 
he  belonged  in  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont. 
He  rode  over  these  states  mingling  in  revival 
scenes  many  years.  His  picture  bears  a  close 
resemblance  to  that  of  Washington,  and  he  was 


290  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

somewhat  famous  for  this  resemblance.  His  work 
was  everywhere  blessed,  and  he  left  an  imperish- 
able influence  in  New  England.  The  tune,  linked 
with  Dr.  Hunter's  hymn,  formed  the  favorite 
melody  which  has  been  the  dying  song  of  many 
who  learned  to  sing  it  amid  the  old  revival  scenes: 

Death,  with  thy  weapons  of  war  lay  me  low; 
Strike,  king  of  terrors;   I  fear  not  the  blow. 
Jesus  has  broken  the  bars  of  the  tomb, 
Joyfully,  joyfully  haste  to  thy  home. 

"TIS  THE  OLD  SHIP  OF  ZION,  HALLELUJAH! " 

This  may  be  found,  vocalized  with  full  harmony, 
in  the  American  Vocalist.  With  all  the  parts  to- 
gether (more  or  less)  it  must  have  made  a  vocif- 
erous song-service,  but  the  hymn  was  oftener  sung 
simply  in  soprano  unison;  and  there  was  sound 
enough  in  the  single  melody  to  satisfy  the  most 
zealous. 

All  her  passengers  will  land  on  the  bright  eternal  shore, 

O,  glory  hallelujah! 
She  has  landed  many  thousands,  and  will  land  as  many  more, 

O,  glory  hallelujah! 

Both  hymn  and  tune  have  lost  their  creators' 
names,  and,  like  many  another  **  voice  crying  in 
the  wilderness,"  they  have  left  no  record  of  their 
beginning  of  days. 

"MY  BROTHER,  I  WISH  YOU  WELL." 

My  brother,  I  wish  you  well. 
My  brother,  I  wish  you  well; 


OLD    REVIVAL    HYMNS.  29I 

When  my  Lord  calls  I  trust  you  will 
Be  mentioned  in  the  Promised  Land. 

Echoes  that  remain  to  us  of  those  fervid  and 
affectionate,  as  well  as  resolute  and  vehement, 
expressions  of  religious  life  as  sung  in  the  early 
revivals  of  New  England,  in  parts  of  the  South, 
and  especially  in  the  Middle  West,  are  suggestive 
of  spontaneous  melody  forest-born,  and  as  un- 
conscious of  scale,  clef  or  tempo  as  the  song  of  a 
bird.  The  above  "hand-shaking"  ditty  at  the 
altar  gatherings  apparently  took  its  tune  self-made, 
inspired  in  its  first  singer's  soul  by  the  feeling  of 
the  moment — and  the  strain  was  so  simple  that  the 
convert  could  join  in  at  once  and  chant — 
When  my  Lord  comes  I  trust  /  shall 

— ^through  all  the  loving  rotations  of  the  crude 
hymn-tune.  Such  song-births  of  spiritual  enthu- 
siasm are  beyond  enumeration — and  it  is  useless  to 
hunt  for  author  or  composer.  Under  the  momen- 
tum of  a  wrestling  hour  or  a  common  rapture  of 
experience,  counterpoint  was  unthought  of,  and 
the  same  notes  for  every  voice  lifted  pleading  and 
praise  in  monophonic  impromptu.    The  refrains — 

O  how  I  love  Jesus, 

O  the  Lamb,  the  Lamb,  the  loving  Lamb, 

I'm  going  home  to  die  no  more, 

Pilgrims  we  are  to  Canaan's  land, 

O  turn  ye,  O  turn  ye,  for  why  will  you  die, 

Come  to  Jesus,  come  to  Jesus,  just  now, 


292         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

— each  at  the  sound  of  its  first  syllable  brought  its 
own  music  to  every  singer's  tongue,  and  all — male 
and  female — were  sopranos  together.  This  habit 
in  singing  those  rude  liturgies  of  faith  and  fellow- 
ship was  recognized  by  the  editors  of  the  Revivalist, 
and  to  a  multitude  of  them  space  was  given  only 
for  the  printed  melody,  and  of  this  sometimes  only 
the  three  or  four  initial  bars.  The  tunes  were  the 
church's  rural  field-tones  that  everybody  knew. 

Culture  smiles  at  this  unclassic  hymnody  of  long 
ago,  but  its  history  should  disarm  criticism.  To 
wanderers  its  quaint  music  and  "pedestrian" 
verse  were  threshold  call  and  door-way  welcome 
into  the  church  of  the  living  God.  Even  in  the 
flaming  days  of  the  Second  Advent  following, 
in  1842-3,  they  awoke  in  many  hardened  hearts 
the  spiritual  glow  that  never  dies.  The  delusion 
passed  away,  but  the  grace  remained. 

The  church — and  the  world — owe  a  long  debt 
to  the  old  evangelistic  refrains  that  rang  through 
the  sixty  years  before  the  Civil  War,  some  of  them 
flavored  with  tuneful  piety  of  a  remoter  time. 
They  preached  righteousness,  and  won  souls  that 
sermons  could  not  reach.  They  opened  heaven 
to  thousands  who  are  now  rejoicing  there. 


CHAPTER    VIIL 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL  HYMNS. 


SHEPHERD  OF  TENDER  YOUTH. 
'Xrofxtov  irwAo)]/  aSdcov 

We  are  assured  by  repeated  references  in  the 
patristic  writings  that  the  primitive  years  of  the 
Christian  Church  were  not  only  years  of  suffering 
but  years  of  song.  That  the  despised  and  often 
persecuted  "Nazarenes,'*  scattered  in  little  colon- 
ies throughout  the  Roman  Empire,  did  not  forget 
to  mingle  tones  of  praise  and  rejoicing  with  their 
prayers  could  readily  be  believed  from  the  much- 
quoted  letter  of  a  pagan  lawyer,  written  about  as 
long  after  Jesus'  death,  as  from  now  back  to  the 
death  of  John  Quincy  Adams — the  letter  of  Pliny 
the  younger  to  the  Emperor  Trajan,  in  which 
he  reports  the  Christians  at  their  meetings  singing 
"hymns  to  Christ  as  to  a  god." 

Those  disciples  who  spoke  Greek  seem  to  have 
been  especially  tuneful,  and  their  land  of  poets 
was  doubtless  the  cradle  of  Christian  hymnody. 
Believers  taught  their  songs  to  their  children,  and 

(293) 


294  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

it  is  as  certain  that  the  oldest  Sunday-school  hymn 
was  written  somewhere  in  the  classic  East  as  that 
the  Book  of  Revelation  was  written  on  the  Isle  of 
Patmos.  The  one  above  indicated  was  found  in 
an  appendix  to  the  Tutor,  a.  book  composed  by 
Titus  Flavius  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  a  Christian 
philosopher  and  instructor  whose  active  life  began 
late  in  the  second  century.  It  follows  a  treatise 
on  Jesus  as  the  Great  Teacher,  and,  though  his  own 
words  elsewhere  imply  a  more  ancient  origin  of 
the  poem,  it  is  always  called  "Clement's  Hymn." 
The  line  quoted  above  is  the  first  of  an  English 
version  by  the  late  Rev.  Henry  Martyn  Dexter, 
D.D.  It  does  not  profess  to  be  a  translation,  but 
aims  to  transfer  to  our  common  tongue  the  spirit 
and  leading  thoughts  of  the  original. 

Shepherd  of  tender  youth, 

Guiding  in  love  and  truth 
Through  devious  ways; 

Christ,  our  triumphant  King, 

We  come  Thy  name  to  sing, 

Hither  our  children  bring 
To  shout  Thy  praise. 

The  last  stanza  of  Dr.  Dexter's  version  repre- 
sents the  sacred  song  spirit  of  both  the  earliest  and 
the  latest  Christian  centuries: 
So  now,  and  till  we  die 
Sound  we  Thy  praises  high, 

And  joyful  sing; 
Infants,  and  the  glad  throng 
Who  to  Thy  church  belong 
Unite  to  swell  the  song 
To  Christ  our  King. 


I 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  295 

While  they  give  us  the  sentiment  and  the  rehgious 
tone  of  the  old  hymn,  these  verses,  however, 
recognize  the  extreme  difficulty  of  anything  like 
verbal  fidelity  in  translating  a  Greek  hymn,  and 
in  this  instance  there  are  metaphors  to  avoid  as 
being  strange  to  modern  taste.  The  first  stanza, 
literally  rendered  and  construed,  is  as  follov^s: 

Bridle  of  untaught  foals, 
Wing  of  unwandering  birds, 
Helm  and  Girdle  of  babes, 
Shepherd  of  royal  lambs! 
Assemble  Thy  simple  children 
To  praise  holily, 
To  hymn  guilelessly 
With  innocent  mouths 
Christ,  the  Guide  of  children. 

Figures  like — 

Catching  the  chaste  fishes. 
Heavenly  milk,  etc., 

— are  necessarily  avoided  in  making  good  English 
of  the  lines,  and  the  profusion  of  adoring  epithets  in 
the  ancient  poem  (no  less  than  twenty-one  different 
titles  of  Christ)  v^ould  embarrass  a  modern  song. 
Dr.  Dexter  might  have  chosen  an  easier  metre 
for  his  version,  if  (which  is  improbable)  he  intended 
it  to  be  sung,  since  a  tune  written  to  sixes  and 
fours  takes  naturally  a  more  decided  lyrical  move- 
ment and  emphasis  than  the  hymn  reveals  in  his 
stanzas,  though  the  second  and  fifth  possess  much 
of  the  hymn  quality  and  would  sound  well  in 
Giardini's  "Italian  Hymn.'' 


296         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

More  nearly  a  translation,  and  more  in  the 
cantabile  style,  is  the  version  of  a  Scotch  Presby- 
terian minister.  Rev.  Hamilton  M.  Macgill,  D.D., 
two  of  v^hose  stanzas  are  these: 

Thyself,  Lord,  be  the  Bridle 

These  wayward  wills  to  stay; 
Be  Thine  the  Wing  unwand'ring. 

To  speed  their  upward  way. 

:(:     :4c     :^     :(c     4:     % 

Let  them  with  songs  adoring 

Their  artless  homage  bring 
To  Christ  the  Lord,  and  crown  Him 

The  children's  Guide  and  King. 

The  Dexter  version  is  set  to  Monk's  slow  har- 
mony of  *'St.  Ambrose"  in  the  Plymouth  Hymnal 
(Ed.  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  1894)  without  the 
writer's  name — which  is  curious,  inasmuch  as  the 
hymn  was  published  in  the  Congregationalist  in 
1849,  ^"  Hedge  and  Huntington  s  (Unitarian) 
Hymn-book  in  1853,  in  the  Hymnal  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  1866,  and  in  Dr.  Schaff's  Christ 
in  Song  in    1869. 

Clement  died  about  A.D.  220. 

Rev.  Henry  Martyn  Dexter,  D.D.,  for  twenty- 
three  years  the  editor  of  the  Congregationalist,  was 
born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  Aug.  13,  1821.  He  was 
a  graduate  of  Yale  (1840)  and  Andover  Divinity 
School  (1844),  a  well-known  antiquarian  writer 
and  church  historian.     Died  Nov.  13,  1890. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  ^97 

"HOW  HAPPY  IS  THE  CHILD  WHO  HEARS." 

This  hymn  was  quite  commonly  heard  in  Sunday- 
schools  during  the  eighteen-thirties  and  forties, 
and,  though  retained  in  few  modern  collections, 
its  Sabbath  echo  lingers  in  the  memory  of  the 
living  generation.  It  was  written  by  Michael 
Bruce,  born  at  Kinneswood,  Kinross-shire,  Scot- 
land, March  27,  1746.  He  was  the  son  of  a  weaver, 
but  obtained  a  good  education,  taught  school,  and 
studied  for  the  ministry.  He  died,  however,  while  in 
preparation  for  his  expected  work,  July  5, 1 767,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  three  months  and  eight  days. 

Young  Bruce  wrote  hymns,  and  several  poems, 
but  another  person  wore  the  honors  of  his  work. 
John  Logan,  who  was  his  literary  executor,  ap- 
propriated the  youthful  poet's  Mss.  verses,  and 
the  hymn  above  indicated — as  well  as  the  beautiful 
poem,  "To  the  Cuckoo,''*  still  a  classic  in  English 
literature, — bore  the  name  of  Logan  for  more  than 
a  hundred  years.  In  Julian  s  Dictionary  of  Hym- 
nology  is  told  at  length  the  story  of  the  inquiry  and 
discussion  which  finally  exposed  the  long  fraud 
upon  the  fame  of  the  rising  genius  who  sank,  like 
Henry  Kirke  White,  in  his  morning  of  promise. 

THE   TUNE. 

Old  "Balerma"  was  so  long  the  musical  mouth- 
piece of  the  pious  boy-schoolmaster's  verses  that 

♦Hail,  beauteous  stranger  of  the  wood, 
Attendant  on  the  Spring; 
Now  Heaven  repairs  thy  rural  seat, 
And  woods  thy  welcome  ring. 


298         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

the   two   became  one   expression,  and   one  could 
not  be  named  without  suggesting  the  other. 

"Balerma"  (Palermo)  was  ages  away  in  style 
and  sound  from  the  later  type  of  Sunday-school 
tunes,  resembling  rather  one  of  Palestrina's  chorals 
than  the  tripping  melodies  that  took  its  place;  but 
in  its  day  juvenile  voices  enjoyed  it,  and  it  suited 
very  well  the  grave  but  winning  words. 

How  happy  Is  the  child  who  hears 

Instruction's  warning  voice, 
And  who  celestial  Wisdom  makes 

His  early,  only  choice! 
For  she  hath  treasures  greater  far 

Than  East  and  West  unfold. 
And  her  rewards  more  precious  are 

Than  all  their  stores  of  gold. 
She  guides  the  young  with  innocence 

In  pleasure's  path  to  tread, 
A  crown  of  glory  she  bestows 

Upon  the  hoary  head. 

Robert  Simpson,  author  of  the  old  tune,*  was  a 
Scottish  composer  of  psalmody;  born,  about  1722, 
in  Glasgow;  and  died,  in  Greenock,  June,   1838. 

"O  DO  NOT  BE  DISCOURAGED." 

Written  about  1803,  by  the  Rev.  John  A.  Gre- 
nade, born  in  1770;   died  1806. 

O  do  not  be  discouraged,      1    , . 

ror  Jesus  is  your  rriend;  J 
He  will  give  you  grace  to  conquer, 

And  keep  you  to  the  end. 


*The  tune  was    evidently   reduced    from   the   still    older   "Sardius"    (or 
"Autumn")— Hubert  P.  Main. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  299 

Fight  on,  ye  little  soldiers, 

The  battle  you  shall  win,. 
For  the  Saviour  is  your  Captain, 

And  He  has  vanquished  sin. 

And  when  the  conflict's  over,    1 

Before  Him  you  shall  stand,  J 
You  shall  sing  His  praise  forever 

In  Canaan's  happy  land. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  hymn  was  made  popular  thirty  or  more 
years  ago  in  a  musical  arrangement  by  Hubert  P. 
Main,  with  a  chorus, — 

I'm  glad  I'm  in  this  army. 
And  I'll  battle  for  the  school. 

Children  took  to  the  little  song  with  a  keen  relish, 
and  put  their  whole  souls — and  bodies — into  it. 

"LITTLE   TRAVELLERS   ZIONWARD" 

Belongs  to  a  generation  long  past.  Its  writer  was 
an  architect  by  occupation,  and  a  man  whose  piety 
equalled  his  industry.  He  was  born  in  London 
1 791,  and  his  name  was  James  Edmeston.  He 
loved  to  compose  religious  verses — so  well,  in  fact, 
that  he  is  said  to  have  prepared  a  new  piece  every 
week  for  Sunday  morning  devotions  in  his  family 
and  in  this  way  accumulated  a  collection  which 
he  published  and  called  Cottager's  Hymns.  Be- 
sides these  he  is  credited  with  a  hundred  Sunday- 
school  hymns. 


300         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Little  travellers  Zionward, 

Each  one  entering  into  rest 
In  the  Kingdom  of  your  Lord, 

In  the  mansions  of  the  blest, 

There  to  welcome  Jesus  waits, 

Gives  the  crown  His  followers  win, 

Lift  your  heads,  ye  golden  gates, 
Let  the  little  travellers  in. 

The  original  tune  is  lost — and  the  hymn  is 
vanishing  with  it;  but  the  felicity  of  its  rhyme  and 
rhythm  show  how  easily  it  adapted  itself  to  music. 

"I'M  BUT  A  STRANGER  HERE." 


The  simple  beauty  of  this  hymn,  and  the 
sympathetic  sweetness  of  its  tune  made  children 
love  to  sing  it,  and  it  found  its  way  into  a  few  Sun- 
day-school collections,  though  not  composed  for 
such  use. 

A  young  Congregational  minister.  Rev.  Thomas 
Rawson  Taylor,  wrote  it  on  the  approach  of  his 
early  end.  He  was  born  at  Osset,  near  Wakefield, 
Yorkshire,  Eng.,  May  9,  1807,  and  studied  in 
Bradford,  where  his  father  had  taken  charge  of  a 
large  church,  and  at  Manchester  Academy  and 
Airesdale  College.  Sensible  of  a  growing  ailment 
that  might  shorten  his  days,  he  hastened  to  the 
work  on  which  his  heart  was  set,  preaching  in 
surrounding  towns  and  villages  while  a  student, 
and  finally  quitting  college  to  be  ordained  to  his 
sacred  profession.  He  was  installed  as  pastor  of 
Howard  St.  Chapel,  Sheffield,  July,  1830,   when 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  3OI 

only  twenty-three.  But  In  less  than  three  years 
his  strength  failed,  and  he  went  back  to  Bradford, 
where  he  occasionally  preached  for  his  father,  when 
able  to  do  so,  during  his  last  days.  He  died  there 
March  15,  1835.  Taylor  was  a  brave  and  lovely 
Christian — and  his  hymn  is  as  sweet  as  his  life. 

I'm  but  a  stranger  here, 

Heaven  is  my  home; 
Earth  is  a  desert  drear, 

Heaven  is  my  home. 

Dangers  and  sorrows  stand 

Round  me  on  every  hand; 
Heaven  is  my  Fatherland — 

Heaven  is  my  home. 

What  though  the  tempest  rage, 

Heaven  is  my  home; 
Short  is  my  pilgrimage. 

Heaven  is  my  home. 

And  time's  wild,  wintry  blast 

Soon  will  be  overpast; 
I  shall  reach  home  at  last — 

Heaven  is  my  home. 

In  his  last  attempt  to  preach,  young  Taylor 
uttered  the  words,  "I  want  to  die  like  a  soldier, 
sword  in  hand.''  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
Sabbath  day  he  breathed  his  last.  His  words  were 
memorable,  and  Montgomery,  who  loved  and  ad- 
mired the  man,  made  them  the  text  of  a  poem, 
part  of  which  is  the  familiar  hymn  "Servant  of 
God,  well  done."* 

♦See  page  498 


302  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

THE  TUNE. 

Sir  Arthur  Sullivan  put  the  words  into  classic 
expression,  but,  to  American  ears  at  least,  the  tune 
of  **Oak,"  by  Lowell  Mason,  is  the  hymn's  true 
sister.     It  was  composed  in  1854. 

"DEAR  JESUS,  EVER  AT  MY  SIDE. " 

One  of  Frederick  William  Faber's  sweet  and 
simple  lyrics.  It  voices  that  temper  and  spirit  in 
the  human  heart  which  the  Saviour  first  looks  for 
and  loves  best.  None  better  than  Faber  could  feel 
and  utter  the  real  artlessness  of  Christian  love  and 
faith. 

Dear  Jesus,  ever  at  my  side, 

How  loving  must  Thou  be 
To  leave  Thy  home  in  heaven  to  guard 

A  sinful  child  like  me. 
Thy  beautiful  and  shining  face 

I  see  not,  tho'  so  near; 
The  sweetness  of  Thy  soft  low  voice 

I  am  too  deaf  to  hear. 

I  cannot  feel  Thee  touch  my  hand 

With  pressure  light  and  mild. 
To  check  me  as  my  mother  did 

When  I  was  but  a  child; 
But  I  have  felt  Thee  in  my  thoughts 

Fighting  with  sin  for  me, 
And  when  my  heart  loves  God  I  know 

The  sweetness  is  from  Thee. 


i 

'^ 

i 

••^1 

\ 

tePv^Jr!/^^B 

mk 

#/^fci*^ 

n 

^■1 

Fanny  J,  Crosby 

{Mrs.    Va7i  Alstyjie) 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  303 

THE   TUNE. 

"Audientes''  by  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan  is  a  gentle, 
erriotional  piece,  rendering  the  first  quatrain  of 
each  Stanza  in  E  flat  unison,  and  the  second  in  C 
harmony. 

^TIS  RELIGION  THAT  CAN  GIVE." 

This  simple  rhyme,  which  has  been  sung 
perhaps  in  every  Sunday-school  in  England  and 
the  United  States,  is  from  a  small  English  book 
by  Mary  Masters.  In  the  preface  to  the  w^ork,  we 
read,  "The  author  of  the  following  poems  never 
read  a  treatise  of  rhetoric  or  an  art  of  poetry,  nor 
was  ever  taught  her  English  grammar.  Her  educa- 
tion rose  no  higher  than  the  spelling-book  or  her 
writing-master." 

'TIs  religion  that  can  give 
Sweetest  pleasure  while  we  live; 
'Tis  religion  can  supply 
Solid  comfort  when  we  die. 
After  death  its  joys  shall  be 
Lasting  as  eternity. 

Save  the  two  sentences  about  herself,  quoted 
above,  there  is  no  biography  of  the  writer.  That 
she  was  good  is  taken  for  granted. 

The  tune-sister  of  the  little  hymn  is  as  scant  of 
date  or  history  as  itself.  No.  422  points  it  out  in 
The  Revivalist,  where  the  name  and  initial  seem  to 
ascribe  the  authorship  to  Horace  Waters.* 

♦From  his  Sahhath  Bell.  Horace  Waters,  a  prominent  Baptist  layman, 
was  born  in  JeflFerson,  Lincoln  Co.,  Me.,  Nov.  i,  1812,  and  died  in  New 
York  City,  April  22, 1893.     He  was  a  piano-dealer  and  publisher. 


304  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"THERE  IS  A  HAPPY  LAND  FAR,  FAR  AWAY." 

This  child's  hymn  was  written  by  a  lover  of 
children,  Mr.  Andrew  Young,  head  master  of 
Niddrey  St.  School,  Edinburgh,  and  subsequently 
English  instructor  at  Madras  College,  E.  I.  He 
was  born  April  23,  180.7,  and  died  Nov.  30,  1899, 
and  long  before  the  end  of  the  century  which  his 
life-time  so  nearly  covered  his  little  carol  had 
become  one  of  the  universal  hymns. 

THE   TUNE. 

A  Hindoo,  air  or  natural  chanson,  that  may 
have  been  hummed  in  a  pagan  temple  in  the  hear- 
ing of  Mr.  Young,  was  the  basis  of  the  little  mel- 
ody since  made  familiar  to  millions  of  prattling 
tongues. 

Such  running  tone-rhythms  create  themselves  in 
the  instinct  of  the  ruder  nations  and  tribes,  and 
even  the  South  African  savages  have  their  in- 
cantations with  the  provincial  "clicks"  that  mark 
the  singers'  time.  With  an  ear  for  native  chirrups 
and  trills,  the  author  of  our  pretty  infant-school 
song  succeeded  in  capturing  one,  and  making  a 
Christian  tune  of  it. 

The  musician,  Samuel  Sebastian  Wesley,  some- 
time in  the  eighteen-forties,  tried  to  substitute 
another  melody  for  the  lines,  but  "There  is  a  happy 
land"  needs  its  own  birth-music. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  305 

''I  HAVE  A  FATHER  IN  THE  PROMISED  LAND." 

Another  cazonet  for  the  infant  class.  Instead  of  a 
hymn,  however,  it  is  only  a  refrain,  and — like  the 
ring-chant  of  the  *' Hebrew  Children,''  and  even 
more  simple — owes  its  only  variety  to  the  change 
of  one  word.    The  third  and  fourth  lines, — 

My  father  calls  me,  I  must  go 

To  meet  Him  in  the  Promised  Land, 

— take  their  cue  from  the  first,  which  may  sing, — ■ 

I  have  a  Saviour 

I  have  a  mother 

I  have  a  brother 

— and  so  on  ad  libitum.  But  the  little  ones  love 
every  sound  and  syllable  of  the  lisping  song,  for 
it  is  plain  and  pleasing,  and  when  a  pinafore  school 
grows  restless  nothing  will  sooner  charm  them  into 
quiet  than  to  chime  its  innocent  unison. 

Both  words  and  tune  are  nameless  and  storyless. 

"I  THINK  WHEN  I  READ  THAT  SWEET  STORY" 

While  riding  in  a  stage-coach,  after  a  visit  to  a 
mission  school  for  poor  children,  this  hymn  camie 
to  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Jemima  Thompson  Luke,  of 
Islington,  England.  It  speaks  its  own  purpose 
plainly  enough,  to  awaken  religious  feeling  in 
young  hearts,  and  guide  and  sanctify  the  natural 
childlike  interest  in  the  sweetest  incident  of  the 
Saviour's  life. 


306  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

I  think  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old 
When  Jesus  was  here  among  men, 
How  He  called  little  children  as  lambs  to  His  fold, 
I  should  like  to  have  been  with  them  then. 

I  wish  that  His  hands  had  been  laid  on  my  head, 
And  I  had  been  placed  on  His  knee, 
And  that  I  might  have  seen  His  kind  look  when  He  said, 
*'Let  the  little  ones  come  unto  me." 

This  is  not  poetry,  but  it  phrases  a  wish  in  a 
child's  own  way,  to  be  melodized  and  fixed  in  a 
child's  reverent  and  sensitive  memory. 

Mrs.  Luke  was  born  at  Colebrook  Terrace,  near 
London,  Aug.  19,  1813.  She  was  an  accomplished 
and  benevolent  lady  who  did  much  for  the  edu- 
cation and  welfare  of  the  poor.  Her  hymn — of 
five  stanzas — was  first  sung  in  a  village  school 
at  Poundford  Park,  and  was  not  published  until 
1841. 

THE  TUNE. 

It  is  interesting,  not  to  say  curious,  testimony  to 
the  vital  quality  of  this  meek  production  that  so 
many  composers  have  set  it  to  music,  or  that 
successive  hymn-book  editors  have  kept  it,  and 
printed  it  to  so  many  different  harmonies.  All  the 
chorals  that  carry  it  have  substantially  the  same 
movement — for  the  spondaic  accent  of  the  long 
lines  is  compulsory — but  their  offerings  sing  "to 
one  clear  harp  in  divers  tones." 

The  appearance  of  the  words  in  one  hymnal 
with  Sir  William  Davenant's  air  (full  scored)  to 
Moore's  love-song,  "Believe  me,  if  all  those  en- 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  307 

dearlng  young  charms,"  now  known  as  the  tune 
of  **Fair  Harvard/'  is  rather  startHng  at  first,  but 
the  adoption  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  policy  of 
Luther  and  Wesley. 

"St.  Kevin,"  written  to  it  forty  years  ago  by 
John  Henry  Cornell,  organist  of  St.  Paul's,  New 
York  City,  is  sweet  and  sympathetic. 

The  newest  church  collection  (1905)  gives  the 
beautiful  air  and  harmony  of  "Athens"  to  the 
hymn,  and  notes  the  music  as  a  "Greek  Melody." 

But  the  nameless  English  tune,  of  uncertain 
authorship*  that  accompanies  the  words  in  the 
smaller  old  manuals,  and  which  delighted  Sunday- 
schools  for  a  generation,  is  still  the  favorite  in  the 
memory  of  thousands,  and  may  be  the  very  music 
first  written. 

"WE  SPEAK  OF  THE  REALMS  OF  THE  BLEST." 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mills,  wife  of  the  Hon.  Thomas 
Mills,  M.P.,  was  born  at  Stoke  Newington,  Eng., 
1805.  She  was  one  of  the  brief  voices  that  sing  one 
song  and  die.  This  hymn  was  the  only  note  of  her 
minstrelsy,  and  it  has  outlived  her  by   more   than 
three-quarters  of  a  century.     She  wrote  it    about 
three  weeks  before  her  decease  in  Finsbury  Place, 
London,  April  21,  1839,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four. 
We  speak  of  the  land  of  the  blest, 
A  country  so  bright  and  so  fair, 
And  oft  are  its  glories  confest, 
But  what  must  it  be  to  be  there! 

*     :»:     *     ;(:     %     % 


♦Harmonized  by  Hubert  P.  Main. 


308         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

We  speak  of  its  freedom  from  sin, 
From  sorrow,  temptation  and  care, 

From  trials  without  and  within. 
But  what  must  it  be  to  be  there! 

THE   TUNE. 

The  hymn,  Hke  several  of  the  Gospel  hymns 
besides,  was  carried  into  the  Sunday-schools  by 
its  music.  Mr.  Stebbins'  popular  duet-and-chorus 
is  fluent  and  easily  learned  and  rendered  by  rote; 
and  while  it  captures  the  ear  and  compels  the  voice 
of  the  youngest,  it  expresses  both  the  pathos  and 
the  exaltation  of  the  words. 

George  Coles  Stebbins  was  born  in  East  Carle- 
ton,  Orleans  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  26,  1846.  Educated 
at  common  school,  and  an  academy  in  Albany, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  music  and  studied  in 
Rochester,  Chicago,  and  Boston.  It  was  in  Chicago 
that  his  musical  career  began,  while  chorister 
at  the  First  Baptist  Church;  and  while  holding 
the  same  position  at  Clarendon  St.  Church,  Boston, 
(1874-6),  he  entered  on  a  course  of  evangelistic 
work  with  D.  L.  Moody  as  gospel  singer  and  com- 
poser. He  was  co-editor  with  Sankey  and  McGran- 
ahan  of  Gospel  Hymns. 

**ONLY  REMEMBERED.*' 

This  hymn,  beginning  originally  with  the  lines, — 

Up  and  away  like  the  dew  of  the  morning, 
Soaring  from  earth  to  its  home  in  the  sun, 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  3O9 

— has  been  repeatedly  altered  since  it  left  Dr.  Bo- 
nar's  hands.  Besides  the  change  of  metaphors,  the 
first  personal  pronoun  singular  is  changed  to  the 
plural.  There  was  strength,  and  a  natural  vivacity 
in — 

So  let  me  steal  away  gently  and  lovingly, 
Only  remembered  for  what  /  have  done. 

As  at  present  sung  the  first  stanza  reads — , 

Fading  away  like  the  stars  of  the  morning 

Losing  their  light  in  the  glorious  sun, 
Thus  would  we  pass  from  the  earth  and  its  toiling 

Only  remembered  for  what  we  have    done. 

The  idea  voiced  in  the  refrain  is  true  and  beauti- 
ful, and  the  very  euphony  of  its  words  helps  to 
enforce  its  meaning  and  make  the  song  pleasant 
and  suggestive  for  young  and  old.  It  has  passed 
into  popular  quotation,  and  become  almost  a  pro- 
verb. 

THE  TUNE. 

The  tune  (in  Gospel  Hymns  No.  6)  is  Mr. 
Sankey's. 

Ira  David  Sankey  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Law- 
rence Co.,  Pa.,  Aug.  28,  1840.  He  united  with 
the  Methodist  Church  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and 
became  choir  leader,  Sunday-school  superintendent 
and  president  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  all  in  his  native 
town.  Hearing  Philip  Phillips  sing  impressed  him 
deeply,  when  a  young  man,  with  the  power  of  a 
gifted  solo  vocalist  over  assembled  multitudes,  but 
he  did  not  fully  realize  his  own  capability  till  Dwight 


310  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

L.  Moody  heard  his  remarkable  voice  and  con- 
vinced him  of  his  divine  mission  to  be  a  gospel 
singer. 

The  success  of  his  revival  tours  with  Mr.  Moody 
in  America  and  England  is  history. 

Mr.  Sankey  has  compiled  at  least  five  singing 
books,  and  has  written  the  Story  of  the  Gospel 
Hymns.  Until  overtaken  by  blindness,  in  his  later 
years  he  frequently  appeared  as  a  lecturer  on  sacred 
music.  The  manuscript  of  his  story  of  the  Gos- 
pel Hymns  was  destroyed  by  accident,  but,  un- 
dismayed by  the  ruin  of  his  work,  and  the  loss 
of  his  eye-sight,  like  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  Thomas 
Carlyle,  he  began  his  task  again.  With  the 
help  of  an  amanuensis  the  book  was  restored 
and,  in  1905,  given  to  the  public.    (See  page  258.) 

"SAVIOUR,  LIKE  A  SHEPHERD  LEAD  US.'* 

Mrs.  Dorothy  Ann  Thrupp,  of  Paddington 
Green,  London,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  was  born 
June  20,  1799,  and  died,  in  London,  Dec.  14,  1847. 
Her  hymns  first  appeared  in  Mrs.  Herbert  Mayo's 

Selection    of  Poetry    and    Hymns    for  the  Use  of 
Infant  and  Juvenile  Schools,'^  (1838.) 

We  are  Thine,  do  Thou  befriend  us, 

Be  the  Guardian  of  our  way: 
Keep  Thy  flock,  from  sin  defend  us, 

Seek  us  when  we  go  astray; 
Blessed  Jesus, 

Hear,  O  hear  us  when  we  pray. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  3II 

The  tune  everywhere  accepted  and  loved  is  W. 
B.  Bradbury's;   w^ritten  in  1856. 

"YIELD  NOT  TO  TEMPTATION." 


A  much  used  and  valued  hymn,  with  a  captiva- 
ting tune  and  chorus  for  young  assemblies.  Both 
words  and  music  are  by  H.  R.  Palmer,  composed 
in  1868. 

Yield  not  to  temptation, 
For  yielding  is  sin; 
Each  vict'ry  will  help  you 
Some  other  to  win. 

Fight  manfully  onward, 
Dark  passions  subdue; 
Look  ever  to  Jesus, 
He  will  carry  you  through. 

Horatio  Richmond  Palmer  was  born  in  Sher- 
burne, N.Y.,  April  26,  1834,  of  a  musical  family, 
and  sang  alto  in  his  father's  choir  when  only  nine. 
He  studied  music  unremittingly,  and  taught  music  at 
fifteen.  Brought  up  in  a  Christian  home,  his  relig- 
ious life  began  in  his  youth,  and  he  consecrated  his 
art  to  the  good  of  man  and  the  glory  of  God. 

He  became  well-known  as  a  composer  of  sacred 
music,  and  as  a  publisher — the  sales  of  his  Song 
Queen  amounting  to  200,000  copies.  As  a  leader 
of  musical  conventions  and  in  the  Church  Choral 
Union,  his  influence  in  elevating  the  standard  of 
song-worship  has  been  widely  felt. 


312         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"THERE  ARE  LONELY  HEARTS  TO  CHERISH." 

**  While  the  days  are  going  by''  is  the  refrain 
of  the  song,  and  the  Hne  by  which  it  is  recognized. 
The  hymn  or  poem  was  written  by  George  Cooper. 
He  was  born  in  New  York  City,  May  14,  1840 — 
a  writer  of  poems  and  magazine  articles, — com- 
posed "While  the  days  are  going  by"  in  1870. 

There  are  lonely  hearts  to  cherish 

While  the  days  are  going  by. 
There  are  weary  souls  who  perish 

While  the  days  are  going  by. 

Up!  then,  trusty  hearts  and  true, 
Though  the  day  comes,  night  comes,  too: 

Oh,  the  good  we  all  may  do 

While  the  days  are  going  by! 

There  are  few  more  practical  and  always- 
timely  verses  than  this  three-stanza  poem. 

THE  TUNE. 

A  very  musical  tune,  with  spirited  chorus,  (in 
Gospel  Hymns)  bears  the  name  of  the  refrain,  and 
was  composed  by  Mr.  Sankey. 

A  sweet  and  quieter  harmony  (uncredited)  is 
mated  with  the  hymn  in  the  old  Baptist  Praise 
Book  (p.  507)  and  this  was  long  the  fixture  to  the 
words,  in  both  Sunday-school  and  week-day  school 
song-books. 

'*JESUS  THE  WATER  OF  LIFE  WILL  GIVE." 

This  Sunday-school  lyric  is  the  work  of  Fanny 
J.  Crosby  (Mrs.  Van  Alstyne).    Like  her  other  and 


I 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  313 

greater  hymn,  "Jesus  keep  me  near  the  Cross," 
(noted  on  p.  156,)  it  reveals  the  habitual  attitude  of 
the  pious  author's  mind,  and  the  simple  earnest- 
ness of  her  own  faith  as  well  as  her  desire  to  win 
others. 

Jesus  the  water  of  life  will  give 

Freely,  freely,  freely; 
Jesus  the  water  of  life  will  give 

Freely  to  those  who  love  Him. 

The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say  "Come 

Freely,  freely,  freely. 
And  he  that  is  thirsty  let  him  come 

And  drink  the  water  of  life." 

Full  chorus, — 

The  Fountain  of  life  is  flowing, 

Flowing,  freely  flowing; 
The  Fountain  of  life  is  flowing, 

Is  flowing  for  you  and  for  me. 

THIS  TUNE. 

The  hymn  must  be  sung  as  it  was  made  to  be 
sung,  and  the  composer  being  many  years  en 
rapport  with  the  writer,  knew  how  to  put  all  her 
metrical  rhythms  into  sweet  sound.  The  tune — 
in  Mr.  Bradbury^s  Fresh  Laurels  (1867) — ^s  one  of 
his  sympathetic  interpretations,  and,  with  the  duet 
sung  by  two  of  the  best  singers  of  the  middle  class 
Sunday-school  girls,  is  a  melodious  and  impressive 
piece. 


314         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES 

"WHEN  HE  COMETH,  WHEN  HE  COMETH." 

The  Rev.  W.  O.  Gushing,  with  the  beautiful 
thought  in  Malachi  3:17  singing  in  his  soul,  com- 
posed this  favorite  Sunday-school  hymn,  which  has 
gone  round  the  world. 

When  He  cometh,  when  He  cometh  . 

To  make  up  His  jewels, 
All  the  jewels,  precious  jewels, 

His  loved  and  His  own. 
Like  the  stars  of  the  morning, 

His  bright  brow  adorning 
They  shall  shine  in  their  beauty 

Bright  gems  for  His  crown. 

He  will  gather.  He  will  gather 

The  gems  for  His  Kingdom, 
All  the  pure  ones,  all  the  bright  ones, 

His  loved  and  His  own. 
Like  the  stars,  etc. 

Little  children,  little  children 

Who  love  their  Redeemer, 
Are  the  jewels,  precious  jewels 

His  loved  and  His  own. 
Like  the  stars,  etc. 

Rev.  WilHam  Orcutt  Gushing  of  Hingham, 
Mass.,  born  Dec.  31,  1823,  wrote  this  little  hymn 
when  a  young  man  (1856),  probably  with  no  idea 
of  achieving  a  literary  performance.  But  it  rings; 
and  even  if  it  is  a  "ringing  of  changes"  on  pretty 
syllables,  that  is  not  all.  There  is  a  thought  in  it 
that  sings.     Its  glory  came  to  it,  however,  when  it 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  315 

got  its  tune — and  he  must  have  had  a  subcon- 
sciousness of  the  tune  he  wanted  when  he  made 
the  Hnes  for  his  Sunday-school.  He  died  Oct.  19, 
1902. 

THE  TUNE. 

The  composer  of  the  music  for  the  "Jewel 
Hymn"*  was  George  F.  Root,  then  living  in  Read- 
ing, Mass. 

A  minister  returning  from  Europe  on  an  English 
steamer  visited  the  steerage,  and  after  some 
friendly  talk  proposed  a  singing  service — if  some- 
thing could  be  started  that  "everybody"  knew — 
for  there  were  hundreds  of  emigrants  there  from 
nearly  every  part  of  Europe. 

"It  will  have  to  be  an  American  tune,  then," 
said  the  steerage-master;  "try  *His  jewels.'" 

The  minister  struck  out  at  once  with  the  melody 
and  words, — 

When  He  cometh,  when  He  cometh, 

— and  scores  of  the  poor  half-fare  multitude  joined 
voices  with  him.  Many  probably  recognized  the 
music  of  the  old  glee,  and  some  had  heard  the  sweet 
air  played  in  the  church-steeples  at  home.  Other 
voices  chimed  in,  male  and  female,  catching  the 
air,  and  sometimes  the  words — they  were  so  easy 
and  so  many  times  repeated — and  the  volume  of 

♦Comparison  of  the  "Jewel  Hymn"  tune  with  the  old  glee  of  "Johnny 
Schmoker"  gives  color  to  the  assertion  that  Mr.  Root  caught  up  and  adapted  a 
popular  ditty  for  his  Christian  melody — as  was  so  often  done  in  Wales,  and 
in  the  Lutheran  and  Wesleyan  reformations.  He  baptized  the  comic  fugue, 
and  promoted  it  from  the  vaudeville  stage  to  the  Sunday  School. 


3l6  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

song  increased,  till  the  singing  minister  stood  in 
the  midst  of  an  international  concert,  the  most 
novel  that  he  ever  led. 

He  tried  other  songs  in  similar  visits  during  the  rest 
of  the  voyage  with  some  success,  but  the  "  Jewel 
Hymn"  was  the  favorite;  and  by  the  time  port 
was  in  sight  the  whole  crowd  of  emigrants  had  it  by 
heart. 

The  steamer  landed  at  Quebec,  and  when  the 
trains,  filled  with  the  new  arrivals,  rolled  away,  the 
song  was  swelling  from  nearly  every  car, — 

When  He  cometh,  when  He  cometh, 
To  make  up  His  jewels. 

The  composer  of  the  tune — with  all  the  patri- 
otic and  sacred  master-pieces  standing  to  his 
credit — never  reaped  a  richer  triumph  than  he 
shared  with  his  poet-partner  that  day,  when 
** Precious  Jewels"  came  back  to  them  from  over 
the  sea.  More  than  this,  there  was  missionary  joy 
for  them  both  that  their  tuneful  work  had  done 
something  to  hallow  the  homes  of  alien  settlers 
with  an  American  Christian  psalm. 

George  Frederick  Root,  Doctor  of  Music,  was 
born  in  Sheffield,  Mass.,  1820,  eldest  of  a  family  of 
eight  children,  and  spent  his  youth  on  a  farm.  His 
genius  for  music  drew  him  to  Boston,  where  he 
became  a  pupil  of  Lowell  Mason,  and  soon  advanced 
so  far  as  to  teach  music  himself  and  lead  the  choir 
in  Park  St.  church.  Afterwards  he  went  to  New  York 
as  director  of  music  in  Dr.  Deems's  Church  of  the 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  317 

Strangers.  In  i852,arter  a  jear's  absence  and  study 
in  Europe,  he  returned  to  New  York,  and  founded 
the  Normal  Musical  Institute.  In  i860,  he  removed 
to  Chicago  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  hfe 
writing  and  publishing  music.  He  died  Aug.  6, 
1895,  in  Maine. 

In  the  truly  popular  sense  Dr.  Root  was  the  best- 
known  American  composer;  not  excepting  Stephen 
C.  Foster.  Root's  "Hazel  Dell,"  "There's  Music 
in  the  Air,"  and  "  Rosalie  the  Prairie  Flower"  were 
universal  tunes — (words  by  Fanny  Crosby,) — as 
also  his  music  to  Henry  Washburn's  "Vacant 
Chair."  The  songs  in  his  cantata,  "The  Hay- 
makers," were  sung  in  the  shops  and  factories 
everywhere,  and  his  war-time  music,  in  such  melo- 
dies as  "Shouting  the  Battle-cry  of  Freedom"  and 
"Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp,  the  Boys  are  Marching" 
took  the  country  by  storm. 

"SCATTER  SEEDS  OF  KINDNESS." 


This  amiable  and  tuneful  poem,  suggested  by 
Rom.  12:10,  is  from  the  pen  of  Mary  Louise  Riley 
(Mrs.  Albert  Smith)  of  New  York  City.  She  was 
born  in  Brighton,  Monroe  Co.,  N.  Y.  May  27, 

1843- 

Let  us  gather  up  the  sunbeams 

Lying  all  along  our  path; 
Let  us  keep  the  wheat  and  roses 

Casting  out  the  thorns  and  chafF. 


3l8  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Chorus. 

Then  scatter  seeds  of  kindness         (ter) 
For  our  reaping  by  and  by. 

Silas  Jones  Vail,  the  tune-writer,  for  this  hymn, 
was  born  Oct.  1818,  and  died  May  20,  1883.  For 
years  he  worked  at  the  hatter's  trade,  with  Beebe 
on  Broadway,  N.Y.  and  afterwards  in  an  establish- 
ment of  his  own.  His  taste  and  talent  led  him  into 
musical  connections,  and  from  time  to  time,  after 
relinquishing  his  trade,  he  was  with  Horace 
Waters,  PhiHp  PhilHps,  W.  B.  Bradbury,  and  F.  J. 
Smith,  the  piano  dealer.  He  was  a  choir  leader 
and  a  good  composer. 

"BY  COOL  SILOAM^S  SHADY  RILL." 

This  hymn  of  Bp.  Heber  inculcates  the  same 
lesson  as  that  in  the  stanzas  of  Michael  Bruce  be- 
fore noted,  with  added  emphasis  for  the  young  on 
the  briefness  of  time  and  opportunity  even  for  them. 

How  fair  the  lily  grows, 

— is  answered  by — 

The  lily  must  decay, 

— but,  owing  to  the  sweetness  of  the  favorite  melody, 
it  was  never  a  saddening  hymn  for  children. 

THE  TUNE. 

Though  George  Kingsley's  **  Heber"  has  in  some 
books  done  service  for  the  Bishop's  lines,  "Siloam," 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    HYMNS.  319 

easy-flowing  and  finely  harmonized,  is  knit  to  the 
words  as  no  other  tune  can  be.  It  was  composed 
by  Isaac  Baker  Woodbury  on  shipboard  during  a 
storm  at  sea.  A  stronger  illustration  of  tranquil 
thought  in  terrible  tumult  was  never  drawn. 

O  Galilee,  Sweet  Galilee,"  whose  history  has 
been  given  at  the  end  of  chapter  six,  was  not  only 
often  sung  in  Sunday-schools,  but  chimed  (in  the 
cities)  on  steeple-bells — nor  is  it  by  any  means  for- 
gotten today — on  the  Sabbath  and  in  social  singing 
assemblies.  Like  "Precious  Jewels,"  it  has  been, 
in  many  places,  taken  up  by  street  boys  with  a 
relish,  and  often  displaced  the  play-house  ditties  in 
the  lips  of  little  newsboys  and  bootblacks  during  a 
leisure  hour  or  a  happy  mood. 

"I  AM  SO  GLAD." 


This  lively  little  melody  is  still  a  welcome  choice 
to  many  a  lady  teacher  of  fluttering  five-year-olds, 
when  both  vocal  indulgence  and  good  gospel  are 
needed  for  the  prattlers  in  her  class.  It  has  been 
as  widely  sung  in  Scotland  as  in  America.  Mr. 
Philip  P.  Bliss,  hearing  one  day  the  words  of  the 
familiar  chorus — 

O,  how  I  love  Jesus, 

— suddenly  thought  to  himself, — 

"I  have  sung  long  enough  of  my  poor  love  to 
Christ,  and  now  I  will  sing  of  His  love  for  me." 
Under  the  inspiration  of  this  thought,  he  wrote — 


320  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

I  am  so  glad  that  our  Father  in  heaven 
Tells  of  His  love  in  the  book  He  has  given* 
Wonderful  things  in  the  Bible  I  see, 
This  is  the  dearest — that  Jesus  loves  me. 

Both  words  and  music  are  by  Mr.  Bliss. 

The  history  of  modern  Sunday-school  hymnody 
— or  much  of  it — is  so  nearly  identified  with  that  of 
the  Gospel  Hymns  that  other  selections  like  the 
last,  which  might  be  appropriate  here,  may  be  con- 
sidered in  a  later  chapter,  where  that  eventful 
series  of  sacred  songs  receives  special  notice. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


PATRIOTIC  HYMNS, 


The  ethnic  anthologies  growing  out  of  love  of 
country  are  a  mingled  literature  of  filial  and  re- 
ligious piety,  ranging  from  war-Hke  paeans  to 
lyric  prayers.  They  become  the  cherished  inheri- 
tance of  a  nation,  and,  once  fixed  in  the  common 
memory  and  common  heart,  the  people  rarely  let 
them  die.  The  "Songs  of  the  Fathers"  have  per- 
ennial breath,  and  in  every  generation — 

The  green  woods  of  their  native  land 

Shall  whisper  in  the  strain; 
The  voices  of  their  household  band 

Shall  sweetly  speak  again. 

— Felicia  Hemans, 

ULTIMA  THULE. 


American  pride  has  often  gloried  in  Seneca's 
"Vision  of  the  West,"  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
years   ago. 

Venient  annis 
Saecula  seris,  quibus  Oceanus 
Vincula  rerum  laxet,  et  ingens 
(321) 


322  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Pateat  tellus,  Typhisque  novos 
Detegat  orbes,  nee  sit  terris 
Ultima  Thule. 

A  time  will  come  in  future  ages  far 

When  Ocean  will  his  circling  bounds  unbar, 

And,  opening  vaster  to  the  Pilot's  hand, 

New  worlds  shall  rise,  where  mightier  kingdoms  are, 

Nor  Thule  longer  be  the  utmost  land. 

This  poetic  forecast,  of  which  Washington  Irving 
wrote  ''the  predictions  of  the  ancient  oracles  were 
rarely  so  unequivocal,"  is  part  of  the  "chorus"  at 
the  end  of  the  second  act  of  Seneca's  "Medea,"  writ- 
ten near  the  date  of  St.  PauFs  first  Epistle  to  the 
Thessalonians. 

Seneca,  the  celebrated  Roman  (Stoic)  philoso- 
pher, was  born  at  or  very  near  the  time  of  our  Sav- 
iour's birth.  There  are  legends  of  his  acquaintance 
with  Paul,  at  Rome,  but  though  he  wrote  able  and 
quotable  treatises  On  Consolation,  On  Providence, 
On  Calmness  of  Soul,  and  On  the  Blessed  Life,  there 
is  no  direct  evidence  that  the  savor  of  Christian 
faith  ever  qualified  his  works  or  his  personal 
principles.  He  was  a  man  of  grand  ideas  and 
inspirations,but  he  was  a  time  server  and  a  flatterer 
of  the  Emperor  Nero,  who,  nevertheless,  caused 
his  death  when  he  had  no  further  use  for  him. 

His  compulsory  suicide  occurred  A.  D.  65,  the 
year  in  which  St.  Paul  is  supposed  to  have  suffered 
martyrdom. 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  323 

"THE  BREAKING  WAVES  DASHED  HIGH." 

Sitting  at  the  tea-table  one  evening,  near  a 
century  ago,  Mrs.  Hemans  read  an  old  account 
of  the  ''  Landing  of  the  Pilgrims,"  and  was  inspired 
to  write  this  poem,  which  became  a  favorite  in 
America — Hke  herself,  and  all  her  other  works. 

The  ballad  is  inaccurate  in  details,  but  presents 
the  spirit  of  the  scene  with  true  poet  insight.  Mr. 
James  T.  Fields,  the  noted  Boston  publisher,  visited 
the  lady  in  her  old  age,  and  received  an  auto- 
graph copy  of  the  poem,  which  is  seen  in  Pilgrim 
Hall,  Plymouth,  Mass. 

The  breaking  waves  dashed  high,  on  a  stern  and  rock-bound 
coast, 

And  the  woods  against  a  stormy  sky,  their  giant  branches 
tossed. 

And  the  heavy  night  hung  dark,  the  hills  and  waters  o'er. 

When  a  band  of  exiles  moored  their  bark  on  the  wild  New  Eng- 
land shore. 

Not  as  the  conqueror  comes,  they,  the  true-hearted,  came; 
Not  with  the  roll  of  stirring  drums,  and  the  trumpet  that  sings 

of  fame; 
Not  as  the  flying  come,  in  silence  and  in  fear, — 
They  shook  the  depths  of  the  desert's  gloom  with  their  hymns 

of  lofty  cheer. 

Amidst  the  storm  they  sang,  and  the  stars  heard,  and  the  sea! 

And  the  sounding  aisles  of  the  dim  woods  rang  to  the  anthem  of 
the  free! 

The  ocean  eagle  soared  from  his  nest  by  the  white  waves'  foam, 

And  the  rocking  pines  of  the  forest  roared, — this  was  their  wel- 
come home! 


324         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

There  were  men  with  hoary  hair  amidst  that  pilgrim  band, — 
Why  had  they  come  to  wither  there,  away  from  their  childhood's 

land  ? 
There  was  woman's  fearless  eye,  lit  by  her  deep  love's  truth; 
There  was  manhood's  brow,  serenely  high,  and  the  fiery  heart 

of  youth. 

What  sought  they  thus  afar  ?  bright  jewels  of  the  mine  ? 

The  wealth  of  seas  ?  the  spoils  of  war  ? — They  sought  a  faith's 
pure  shrine! 

Ay,  call  it  holy  ground,  the  soil  where  first  they  trod; 

They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, — freedom  to  wor- 
ship God! 

Felicia  Dorothea  Browne  (Mrs.  Hemans)  was 
born  in  Liverpool,  Eng.,  1766,  and  died  1845. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  original  tune  is  not  now  accessible.  It  was 
composed  by  Mrs.  Mary  E.  (Browne)  Arkwright, 
Mrs.  Hemans'  sister,  and  published  in  England 
about  1835.  But  the  words  have  been  sung  in 
this  country  to  "Silver  St.,'*  a  choral  not  entirely 
forgotten,  credited  to  an  English  composer,  Isaac 
Smith,  born,  in  London,  about  1735,  and  died  there 
in  1800. 

"WESTWARD  THE  COURSE  OF  EMPIRE." 

Usually  misquoted  "Westward  the  Star  of  Em- 
pire," etc.  This  poem  of  Bishop  Berkeley  pos- 
sesses no  lyrical  quality  but,  like  the  ancient 
Roman's  words,  partakes  of  the  prophetic  spirit, 
and  has  always  been  dear  to  the  American  heart 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  325 

by  reason  of  the  above  line.  It  seems  to  formulate 
the  "manifest  destiny"  of  a  great  colonizing  race 
that  has  already  absorbed  a  continent,  and  ex- 
tended its  sway  across  the  Pacific  ocean. 

Not  such  as  Europe  breeds  in  her  decay; 

Such  as  she  bred  when  fresh  and  young, 
When  heavenly  flame  did  animate  her  clay, 

By  future  poets  shall  be  sung. 

Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way; 

The  four  first  acts  already  past, 
The  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  of  the  day: 

Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last. 

George  Berkeley  was  born  March  12,  1684,  and 
educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  A  remarkable 
student,  he  became  a  remarkable  man,  as  priest, 
prelate,  and  philosopher.  High  honors  awaited 
him  at  home,  but  the  missionary  passion  seized  him. 
Inheriting  a  small  fortune,  he  sailed  to  the  West, 
intending  to  evangelize  and  educate  the  Indians  of 
the  "  Summer  Islands,"  but  the  ship  lost  her  course, 
and  landed  him  at  Newport,  R.L,  instead  of  the 
Bermudas.  Here  he  was  warmly  welcomed,  but 
was  disappointed  in  his  plans  and  hopes  of  founding 
a  native  college  by  the  failure  of  friends  in  England 
to  forward  funds,  and  after  a  residence  of  six  years 
he  returned  home.     He  died  at  Cloyne,   Ireland, 

1753. 

The  house  which  Bishop  Berkeley  built  is  still 
shown  (or  was  until  very  recently)  at  Newport 
after  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  years.  He 
wrote    the    ^^ Principles    of    Human    Knowledge, 


326         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

the  Minute  Philosopher^  and  many  other  works 
of  celebrity  in  their  time,  and  a  scholarship  in  Yale 
bears  his  name;  but  he  is  best  loved  in  this  country 
for  his  Ode  to  America. 

Pope  in  his  list  of  great  men  ascribes — 
To  Berkeley  every  virtue  under  heaven. 

"SOUND  THE  LOUD  TIMBREL." 


One  would  scarcely  guess  that  this  bravura 
hymn  of  victory  and  **  Come,  ye  disconsolate, "  were 
written  by  the  same  person,  but  both  are  by 
Thomas  Moore.  The  song  has  all  the  vigor  and 
vivacity  of  his  "  Harp  That  Once  Through  Tara's 
Halls,"  without  its  pathos.  The  Irish  poet  chose 
the  song  of  Miriam  instead  of  the  song  of  Deborah 
doubtless  because  the  sentiment  and  strain  of  the 
first  of  these  two  great  female  patriots  lent  them- 
selves more  musically  to  his  lyric  verse — and  his 
poem  is  certainly  martial  enough  to  convey  the 
spirit  of  both. 

Sound  the  loud  timbrel  o'er  Egypt's  dark  sea! 

Jehovah  hath  triumphed,  His  people  are  free! 
Sing,  for  the  pride  of  the  tyrant  is  broken; 

His  chariots,  his  horsemen,  all  splendid  and  brave — 
How  vain  was  their  boasting,  the  Lord  hath  but  spoken, 

And  chariots  and  horsernen  are  sunk  in  the  wave. 

THE  TUNE. 

Of  all  the  different  composers  to  whose  music 
Moore's  "sacred  songs"  were   sung — Beethoven, 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  327 

Mozart,  Stevenson,  and  the  rest — Avison  seems  to 
be  the  only  one  whose  name  and  tune  have  clung 
to  the  poet's  words;  and  we  have  the  man  and  the 
melody  sent  to  us,  as  it  were,  by  the  lyrist  himself. 
The  tune  is  now  rarely  sung  except  at  church 
festivals  and  village  entertainments,  but  the  life 
and  clamor  of  the  scene  at  the  Red  Sea  are  in  it, 
and  it  is  somethino^  more  than  a  mere  musical 
curiosity.  Its  style,  however,  is  antiquated — with 
its  timbrel  beat  and  its  canorous  harmony  and 
"coda  fortis'' — and  modern  choirs  have  little  use 
in  religious  service  for  the  sonata  written  for  viols 
and  horns. 

It  was  Moore's  splendid  hymn  that  gave  it 
vogue  in  England  and  Ireland,  and  sent  it  across 
the  sea  to  find  itself  in  the  house  of  its  friends  with 
the  psalmody  of  BiUings  and  Swan.  Moore  was 
the  man  of  all  men  to  take  a  fancy  to  it  and  make 
language  to  its  string-and-trumpet  concert.  He 
was  a  musician  himself,  and  equally  able  to  adapt 
a  tune  and  to  create  one.  As  a  festival  perform- 
ance, replete  with  patriotic  noise,  let  Avison's  old 
"Sound  the  Timbrel"  live. 

Charles  Avison  was  born  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 
1 710.  He  studied  in  Italy,  wrote  works  on  music, 
and  composed  sonatas  and  concertos  for  stringed 
orchestras.  For  many  years  he  was  organist  of 
St.  Nicholas'  Kirk  in  his  native  town. 

The  tune  to  "Sound  the  Loud  Timbrel"  is  a 
chorus  from  one  of  his  longer  compositions.  He 
died  in  1770. 


328         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

*THE  HARPTHATONCE  THROUGH  TARA'S  HALLS." 

This  IS  the  only  one  of  Moore's  patriotic  "Irish 
Melodies"  that  lives  wherever  sweet  tones  are 
loved  and  poetic  feeling  finds  answering  hearts. 
The  exquisite  sadness  of  its  music  and  its  text  is 
strangely  captivating,  and  its  untold  story  beckons 
from  its  lines. 

Tara  was  the  ancient  home  of  the  Irish  kings. 
King  Dermid,  who  had  apostatized  from  the  faith 
of  St.  Patrick  and  his  followers,  in  A.  D.,  554, 
violated  the  Christian  right  of  sanctuary  by  taking 
an  escaped  prisoner  from  the  altar  of  refuge  in 
Temple  Ruadan  (Tipperary)  and  putting  him  to 
death.  The  patron  priest  and  his  clergy  marched 
to  Tara  and  solemnly  pronounced  a  curse  upon 
the  King.  Not  long  afterwards  Dermid  was 
assassinated,  and  superstition  shunned  the  place 
"as  a  castle  under  ban."  The  last  human  resident 
of  "Tara's  Hall"  was  the  King's  bard,  who 
lingered  there,  forsaken  and  ostracized,  till  he 
starved  to  death.  Years  later  one  daring  visitor 
found  his  skeleton  and  his  broken  harp. 

Moore  utilized  this  story  of  tragic  pathos  as  a 
figure  in  his  song  for  "fallen  Erin"  lamenting  her 
lost  royalty — under  a  curse  that  had  lasted  thirteen 
hundred  years. 

The  harp  that  once  through  Tara's  halls 

The  soul  of  music  shed, 
Now  hangs  as  mute  on  Tara's  walls 

As  if  that  soul  were  fled. 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  32$ 

So  sleeps  the  pride  of  former  days, 

So  glory's  thrill  is  o'er, 
And  hearts  that  once  beat  high  for  praise 

Now  feel  that  pulse  no  more. 

No  one  can  read  the  words  without  "thinking" 
the  tune.  It  is  supposed  that  Moore  composed 
them  both. 

THE  MARSEILLAISE  HYMN. 


Ye  sons  of  France,  awake  to  glory! 
Hark!  hark!  what  millions  bid  you  rise! 

The  "Marseillaise  Hymn"  so  long  supposed  to  be 
the  musical  as  well  as  verbal  composition  of 
Roget  de  Lisle,  an  army  engineer,  was  proved  to 
be  only  his  words  set  to  an  air  in  the  "Credo"  of  a 
German  mass,  which  was  the  work  of  one  Holz- 
man  in  1726.  De  Lisle  was  known  to  be  a  poet 
and  musician  as  well  as  a  soldier,  and,  as  he  is  said  to 
have  played  or  sung  at  times  in  the  churches  and 
convents,  it  is  probable  that  he  found  and  copied 
the  manuscript  of  Holzman's  melody.  His  haste 
to  rush  his  fiery  "Hymn"  before  the  public  in  the 
fever  of  the  Revolution  allowed  him  no  time  to 
make  his  own  music,  and  he  adapted  the  German's 
notes  to  his  words  and  launched  the  song  in  the 
streets  of  Strasburg.  It  was  first  sung  in  Paris  by 
a  band  of  chanters  from  Marseilles,  and,  like  the 
trumpets  blown  around  Jericho,  it  shattered  the 
walls  of  the  French  monarchy  to  their  foundations. 

The  "Marseillaise  Hymn"  is  mentioned  here  for 
its  patriotic  birth  and  associations.    An  attempt  to 


330  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

make  a  religious  use  of  it  is  recorded  in  the  Fourth 
Chapter. 

ODE  ON  SCIENCE. 

This  is  a  "patriotic  hymn,"  though  a  queer  pro- 
duction with  a  queer  name,  considering  its  con- 
tents; and  its  author  was  no  intimate  of  the  Muses. 
Liberty  is  supposed  to  be  somehow  the  corollary 
of  learning,  or  vice  versa — whichever  the  reader 
thinks. 

The  morning  sun  shines  from  the  East 
And  spreads  his  glories  to  the  West. 

****** 

So  Science  spreads  her  lucid  ray 
O'er  lands  that  long  in  darkness  lay; 
She  visits  fair  Columbia, 
And  sets  her  sons  among  the  stars. 
Fair  Freedom,  her  attendant,  waits,  etc. 

THE    TUNE 

Was  the  really  notable  part  of  this  old-time  "  Ode," 
the  favorite  of  village  assemblies,  and  the  inevitable 
practice-piece  for  amateur  violinists.  The  author 
of  the  crude  symphony  was  Deacon  Janaziah  (or 
Jazariah)  Summer,  of  Taunton,  Mass.,  who  pre- 
pared it — music  and  probably  words — for  the 
semi-centennial  of  Simeon  Dagget's  Academy  in 
1798.  The  "Ode"  was  subsequently  published 
in  Philadelphia,  and  also  in  Albany.  It  was  a  song 
of  the  people,  and  sang  itself  through  the  country 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  33 1 

for  fifty  or  sixty  years,  always  culminating  in  the 
swift  crescendo  chorus  and  repeat — 

The  British  yoke  and  Gallic  chain 
Were  urged  upon  our  necks  in  vain; 
All  haughty  tyrants  we  disdain, 
And  shout  "Long  live  America!" 

The  average  patriot  did  not  mind  it  if  "  Colum- 
h'l-ay"  and  "Ameri-^<2y"  were  not  exactly  classic 
orthoepy. 

"HAIL    COLUMBIA." 

This  was  written  (1798)  by  Judge  Joseph  Hop- 
kinson,born,in  Philadelphia,  1770,  and  died  there, 
1843.  He  wrote  it  for  a  friend  in  that  city  who 
was  a  theatre  singer,  and  wanted  a  song  for  In- 
dependence Day.  The  music  (to  which  it  is  still 
sung)  was  "The  President's  March,"  by  a  com- 
poser named  Fyles,  near  the  end  of  the  i8th 
century. 

There  is  nothing  hymn-like  in  the  words,  which 
are  largely  a  glorification  of  Gen.  Washington,  but 
the  tune,  a  concerted  piece  better  for  band  than 
voices,  has  the  drum-and-anvil  chorus  quality  suit- 
able for  vociferous  mass  singing — and  a  zealous 
Salvation  Army  corps  on  field  nights  could  even  fit 
a  processional  song  to  it  with  gospel  words. 

OLD  "CHESTER." 


Let  tyrants  shake  their  iron  rod, 

And  slavery  clank  her  galling  chains: 

We'll  fear  them  not;   we  trust  in  God; 
New  England's  God  forever  reigns. 


332  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES 

Old  "Chester/'  both  words  and  tune  the  work 
of  WilHam  Billings,  is  another  of  the  provincial 
freedom  songs  of  the  Revolutionary  period,  and  of 
the  days  when  the  Republic  was  young.  Billings 
was  a  zealous  patriot,  and  (says  a  writer  in  Moore's 
Cyclopedia  of  Music)  "one  secret,  no  doubt,  of  the 
vast  popularity  his  works  obtained  was  the  patri- 
otic ardor  they  breathed.  The  words  above  quoted 
are  an  example,  and  *  Chester,'  it  is  said,  was 
frequently  heard  from  every  fife  in  the  New  Eng- 
land ranks.  The  spirit  of  the  Revolution  was  also 
manifest  in  his  *  Lamentation  over  Boston,'  his 
'Retrospect,'  his  'Independence,'  his  'Columbia,' 
and  many  other  pieces." 

William  Billings  was  born,  in  Boston,  Oct.  7, 1 746. 
He  was  a  man  of  little  education,  but  his  genius  for 
music  spurred  him  to  study  the  tuneful  art,  and  en- 
abled him  to  learn  all  that  could  be  learned  with- 
out a  master.  He  began  to  make  tunes  and  pub- 
lish them,  and  his  first  book,  the  New  England 
Psalm-singer  W2is  a  curiosity  of  youthful  crudity  and 
confidence,  but  in  considerable  numbers  it  was  sold, 
and  sung — and  laughed  at.  He  went  on  studying 
and  composing,  and  compiled  another  work,  which 
was  so  much  of  an  improvement  that  it  got  the  name 
o£ Billings*  Best.  A  third  singing-book  followed,  and 
finally  a  fourth  entitled  the  Psalm  Singer  s  Amuse- 
ment, both  of  which  were  popular  in  their  day.  His 
"Majesty"  has  tremendous  capabilities  of  sound, 
and  its  movement  is  fully  up  to  the  requirements  of 
Nahum  Tate's  verses, — 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  ^^^ 

And  on  the  wings  of  mighty  winds 
Came  flying  all  abroad. 

William  Billings  died  in  1800,  and  his  remains 
lie  in  an  unmarked  grave  in  the  old  *' Granary" 
Burying  Ground  in  the  city  of  his  birth. 

National  feeling  has  taken  maturer  speech  and 
finer  melody,  but  it  was  these  ruder  voices  that  set 
the  pitch.  They  v^ere  sung  w^ith  native  pride  and 
affection  at  fireside  vespers  and  rural  feasts  with 
the  adopted  songs  of  Burns  and  Moore  and  Mrs. 
Hemans,  and,  like  the  lays  of  Scotland  and  Pro- 
vence, they  breathed  the  flavor  of  the  country  air 
and  soil,  and  taught  the  generation  of  home-born 
minstrelsy  that  gave  us  the  Hutchinson  family, 
Ossian  E.  Dodge,  Covert  with  his  "Sword  of 
Bunker  Hill,"  and  Philip  PhiUips,  the  "Singing 
Pilgrim." 

THE  STAR   SPANGLED   BANNER. 

Near  the  close  of  the  last  war  with  England, 
Francis  Scott  Key,  of  Baltimore,  the  author  of  this 
splendid  national  hymn,  was  detained  under  guard 
on  the  British  flag-ship  at  the  mouth  of  the  Petap- 
sco,  where  he  had  gone  under  a  flag  of  truce  to 
procure  the  release  of  a  captured  friend.  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Beanes  of  Upper  Marlboro,  Md. 

The  enemy's  fleet  was  preparing  to  bombard 
Fort  McHenry,  and  Mr.  Key's  return  with  his 
friend  was  forbidden  lest  their  plans  should  be 
disclosed.  Forced  to  stay  and  witness  the  attack 
on  his  country's  flag,  he  walked  the  deck  through 


334  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

the  whole  night  of  the  bombardment  until  the 
break  of  day  showed  the  brave  standard  still  flying 
at  full  mast  over  the  fort.  Relieved  of  his  patriotic 
anxiety,  he  pencilled  the  exultant  lines  and  chorus 
of  his  song  on  the  back  of  a  letter,  and,  as  soon  as  he 
was  released,  carried  it  to  the  city,  where  within 
twenty-four  hours  it  was  printed  on  flyers,  circu- 
lated and  sung  in  the  streets  to  the  air  of  "  Anacreon 
in  Heaven" — which  has  been  the  "Star  Spangled 
Banner"  tune  ever  since. 

O  say,  can  you  see  by  the  dawn's  early  light 
What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming  ? 
Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars  through  the  perilous  fight 
O'er  the  ramparts  we  watched,  were  so  gallantly  streaming, 
And  the  rockets  red  glare,  the  bombs  bursting  in  air 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  the  flag  was  still   there: 
O  say,  does  the  star-spangled  banner  yet  wave, 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ? 

O  thus  be  it  ever  when  freemen  shall  stand. 
Between  their  loved  homes  and  the  war's  desolation; 
Blessed   with   victory   and   peace,   may   the   heaven- 
rescued  land 
Praise  the  Power  that  hath  made  and  preserved  us  a 

nation. 
Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is  just. 
And  this  be  our  motto,  ''In  God  is  our  trust" 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  shall  wave, 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave. 

The  original  star-spangled  banner  that  waved 
over  Fort  McHenry  in  sight  of  the  poet  when  he 
wrote  the  famous  hymn  was  made  and  presented 
to  the  garrison  by  a  girl  of  fifteen,  afterwards  Mrs. 


■■'*^, 

^^ 

f 

. 

H  - 

^p| 

i: 

V  1 

\ 

^ 

^^ 

Ir^ 

'/•m. 

fjH 

^^^' 

^^^|M| 

Samuel  F. 
Smith 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  335 

Sanderson,  and  is  still  preserved  in  the  Sanderson 
family  at  Baltimore. 

The  additional  stanza  to  the  *'Star-Spangled 
Banner" — 

When  our  land  is  illumined  with  Liberty's  smile,  etc., 

— was  composed  by  Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes,  in  1861. 
The  tune  "Anacreon  in  Heaven"  was  an  old 
English  hunting  air  composed  by  John  Stafford 
Smith,  born  at,  Gloucester,  Eng.  1750.  He  was 
composer  for  Covent  Garden  Theater,  and  con- 
ductor of  the  Academy  of  Ancient  Music.  Died 
Sep.  20,  1836.  The  melody  was  first  used  in 
America  to  Robert  Treat  Paine's  song,  "Adams 
and  Liberty."  Paine,  born  1778 — died  181 1,  was 
the  son  of  Robert  Treat  Paine,  signer  of  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence. 

"STAND!  THEGROUND^SYOUROWN,MY  BRAVES." 

Sympathetic  admiration  for  the  air,  "  Scots  wha 
hae  wi'  Wallace  bled,"  (or  "Bruce's  address,"  as  it 
was  commonly  called),  with  the  syllables  of  Robert 
Burns'  silvery  verse,  lingered  long  in  the  land  after 
the  wars  were  ended.  It  spoke  in  the  poem  of 
John  Pierpont,  who  caught  its  pibroch  thrill,  and 
built  the  metre  of  "Warren's  Address  at  the  Battle 
of  Bunker  Hill"  on  the  model  of  "  Scots  wha  hae." 

Stand!    the  ground's  your  own,  my  braves; 

Will  ye  give  it  up  to  slaves  ? 
Will  ye  look  for  greener  graves  ? 

:i:     ;ic     4:     %     *     >(c 


336         STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

In  the  God  of  battles  trust: 
Die  we  may,  or  die  we  must, 
But  O  where  can  dust  to  dust 
Be  consigned  so  well, 

As  where  Heaven  its  dews  shall  shed. 
On  the  martyred  patriot's  bed, 
And  the  rocks  shall  raise  their  head 
Of  his  deeds  to  tell  ? 

This  poem,  written  about  1823,  held  a  place 
many  years  in  school-books,  and  was  one  of  the 
favorite  school-boy  declamations.  Whenever  sung 
on  patriotic  occasions,  the  music  was  sure  to  be 
"  Bruce's  Address."  That  typical  Scotch  tune  was 
played  on  the  Highland  bag-pipes  long  before 
Burns  was  born,  and  known  as  "Hey  tuttie  taite." 
**  Heard  on  Fraser's  hautboy,  it  used  to  fill  my 
eyes  with  tears,"  Burns  himself  once  wrote. 

Rev.  John  Pierpont  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Ct., 
April  6,  1785.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale,  1804, 
taught  school,  studied  law,  engaged  in  trade,  and 
finally  took  a  course  in  theology  ancj  became  a 
Unitarian  minister,  holding  the  pastorate  of  Hollis 
St.  Church,  Boston,  thirty-six  years.  He  travelled 
in  the  East,  and  wrote  **Airs  of  Palestine.*'  His 
poem,  "The  Yankee  Boy,"  has  been  much  quoted. 
Died  in  Medford,  Mass.,  Aug.  26,    1866. 

"MY  COUNTRY,  TIS  OF  THEE." 

This  simple  lyric,  honored  so  long  with  the  name 
"America,"  and  the  title  "Our  National  Hymn," 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  337 

was  written  by  Samuel  Francis  Smith,  while  a 
theological  student  at  Andover,  Feb.  2,  1832.  He 
had  before  him  several  hymn  and  song  tunes  which 
Lowell  Mason  had  received  from  Germany,  and, 
knowing  young  Smith  to  be  a  good  linguist,  had 
sent  to  him  for  translation.  One  of  the  songs,  of 
national  character,  struck  Smith  as  adaptable  to 
home  use  if  turned  into  American  words,  and  he 
wrote  four  stanzas  of  his  own  to  fit  the  tune. 

Mason  printed  them  with  the  music,  and  under 
his  magical  management  the  hymn  made  its  debut 
on  a  public  occasion  in  Park  St.  Church,  Boston, 
July  4,  1832.  Its  very  simplicity,  with  its  rever- 
ent spirit  and  easy-flowing  language,  was  sure  to 
catch  the  ear  of  the  multitude  and  grow  into  fami- 
liar use  with  any  suitable  music,  but  it  was  the 
foreign  tune  that,  under  Mason's  happy  pilotage, 
winged  it  for  the  western  world  and  launched  it 
on  its  long  flight. 

My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 

Of  thee  I  sing; 
Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride, 
From  every  mountain-side 

Let  freedom  ring. 

3|c     He     He     4:     :k     4: 

Let  music  swell  the  breeze. 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees 

Sweet  Freedom's  song; 
Let  mortal  tongues  awake, 


338  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Let  all  that  breathe  partake, 
Let  rocks  their  silence  break, 
The  sound  prolong. 

Our   fathers'  God,  to  Thee, 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  we  sing; 

Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  Freedom's  holy  light; 
Protect  us  by  Thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King. 

THE   TUNE. 

Pages,  and  at  least  two  volumes,  have  been  writ- 
ten to  prove  the  origin  of  that  cosmopolitan,  half- 
Gregorian  descant  known  here  as  "America,"  and 
in  England  as  "God  Save  the  King."  William  C. 
Woodbridge  of  Boston  brought  it  home  with  him 
from  Germany.  The  Germans  had  been  singing 
it  for  years  (and  are  singing  it  now,  more  or  less) 
to  the  words,  "Heil  Dir  Im  Siegel  Kranz,"  and  the 
Swiss  to  "Rufst  Du  mein  Vaterland."  It  was 
sung  in  Sweden,  also,  and  till  1833  it  was  in  public 
use  in  Russia  commonly  enough  to  give  it  a  nat- 
ional character.  Von  Weber  introduced  it  in  his 
"Jubel"  overture,  and  Beethoven,  in  18 14,  copied 
it  in  C  Major  and  wrote  piano  variations  on  it. 
It  has  been  ascribed  to  Henry  Purcell  (1696),  to 
Lulli,  a  French  composer  (1670),  to  Dr.  John  Bull 
(16 19),  and  to  Thomas  Ravenscroft  and  an  old 
Scotch  carol  as  old  as  1609.  One  might  fancy  that 
the  biography  of  the  famous  air  resembled  Melchi- 
zedek's. 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  339 

The  truth  appears  to  be  that  certain  bars  of 
music  which  might  easily  happen  to  be  similar, 
or  even  identical,  when  plain-song  was  the  common 
style,  were  produced  at  different  times  and  places, 
and  one  man  finally  harmonized  the  wandering 
strains  into  a  complete  tune.  It  is  now  generally 
conceded  that  the  man  was  Henry  Carey,  a  popular 
English  composer  and  dramatist  of  the  first  half 
of  the  1 8th  century,  who  sang  the  melody  as  it  now 
is,  in  1740,  at  a  public  dinner  given  in  honor  of 
Admiral  Vernon  after  his  capture  of  Porto  Bello 
(Brazil).  This  antedates  any  authenticated  use 
of  the  tune  ipsissima  forma  in  England  or  conti- 
nental Europe. 

The  American  history  of  it  simply  is  that  Wood- 
bridge  gave  it  to  Mason  and  Mason  gave  it  to 
Smith — and  Smith  gave  it  "My  Country  'Tis  of 
Thee." 

"BY  THE  RUDE  BRIDGE." 


This  genuinely  American  poem,  written  by 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  and  called  usually  the 
"Concord  Hymn,"  was  prepared  for  the  dedication 
of  the  Battle-monument  in  Concord,  April  19,  1836, 
and  sung  there  to  the  time  of  "Old  Hundred." 
Apparently  no  change  has  been  made  in  the 
original  except  of  a  single  word  in  the  first  line. 

By  the  rude  bridge  that  arched  the  flood, 

Their  flag  to  April's  breeze  unfurled, 
Here  once  the  embattled  farmers  stood, 

And  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world. 


340         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

The  foe  long  since  in  silence  slept; 

Alike  the  conqueror  silent  sleeps; 
And  Time  the  ruined  bridge  has  swept 

Down  the  dark  stream  which  seaward  creeps. 

On  this  green  bank,  by  this  soft  stream, 

We  set  today  a  votive  stone; 
That  memory  may  their  deed  redeem. 

When,  like  our  sires,  our  sons  are  gone. 

Spirit,  that  made  those  heroes  dare 

To  die,  and  leave  their  children  free, 
Bid  Time  and  Nature  gently  spare 

The  shaft  we  raise  to  them  and  Thee. 

This  does  not  appear  in  the  hymnals  and  owns 
no  special  tune.  Its  niche  of  honor  is  in  the  temple 
of  anthology,  but  it  will  always  be  called  the  "Con- 
cord Hymn" — and  the  fourth  line  of  its  first  stanza 
is  a  perennial  quotation. 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  LL.D.,  the  renowned 
American  essayist  and  poet,  was  born  in  Boston, 
1803.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1821,  and  was 
ordained  to  the  Unitarian  ministr}%  but  turned  his 
attention  to  literature,  writing  and  lecturing  on 
ethical  and  philosophical  themes,  and  winning 
universal  fame  by  his  original  and  suggestive  prose 
and  verse.     He  died  April  27,  1882. 

BATTLE  HYIVIN  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

After  a  visit  to  the  Federal  camps  on  the  Poto- 
mac in  1 861,  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  returned  to 
her  lodgings  in  Washington,  fatigued,  as  she  says, 
by    her    "long,    cold    drive,"    and    slept   soundly. 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  34 1 

Awakening  at  early  daybreak,  she  began  "to  twine 
the  long  Hnes  of  a  hymn  which  promised  to  suit  the 
measure  of  the  *John  Brown'  melody." 

This  hymn  was  written  out  after  a  fashion  in  the 
dark,  by  Mrs.  Howe,  and  she  then  went  back  to  sleep. 

Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord ; 
He  is  trampling  out  the  vintage  where  the  grapes  of  wrath  are 

stored; 
He  hath  loosed  the  fateful  lightning  of  His  terrible  swift  sword; 
His  truth  is  marching  on. 

I  have  seen  Him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a  hundred  circling  camps. 
They  have  builded  Him  an  altar  in  the  evening  dews  and  damps; 
I  can  read  His  righteous  sentence  by  the  dim  and  flaring  lamps; 
His  day  is  marching  on. 

I  have  read  a  fiery  gospel  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel; 
"As  ye  deal  with  my  contemners,  so  with  you  my  grace  shall  deal ;" 
Let  the  Hero,  born  of  woman,  crush  the  serpent  with  His  heel, 
Since  God  is  marching  on. 

He  has  sounded  forth  the  trumpet  that  shall  never  call  retreat; 
He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  His  judgment  seat; 
Oh,  be  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  Him!  be  jubilant  my  feet! 
Our  God  is  marching  on. 

In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  bom  across  the  sea, 
With  a  glory  in  His  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me; 
As  He  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men  free, 
While  God  is  marching  on. 

THE  TUNE. 

The  music  of  the  old  camp-meeting  refrain, — 

Say,  brothers  will  you  meet  us  ? 
O  brother,  will  you  meet  me, 


342         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

(No.  173  in  the  Revivalist,)  was  written  in  1855,  by 
John  William  Steffe,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  for  a  fire 
company,  and  was  afterwards  arranged  by  Frank- 
Hn  H.  Lummis.  The  air  of  the  "John  Brown 
Song'*  was  caught  from  this  reHgious  melody.  The 
old  hymn-tune  had  the  "Glory,  Hallelujah"  coda, 
cadenced  off  with,  "For  ever,  ever  more.'* 

In  1860-61  the  garrison  of  soldiers  at  work  on 
the  half-dismantled  defenses  of  Fort  Warren  in 
Boston  Harbor,  were  fain  to  lighten  labor  and  mock 
fatigue  with  any  species  of  fun  suggested  by  cir- 
cumstances or  accident,  and,  as  for  music,  they  sang 
everything  they  could  remember  or  make  up. 
John  Brown's  memory  and  fate  were  fresh  in  the 
Northern  mind,  and  the  jollity  of  the  not  very 
reverent  army  men  did  not  exclude  frequent  allu- 
sions to  the  rash  old  Harper's  Ferry  hero. 

A  wag  conj  ured  his  spirit  into  the  camp  with  a  witti- 
cism as  to  what  he  was  doing,  and  a  comrade  retorted, 

"Marchin'  on,  of  course." 

A  third  cried,  "Pooh,  John  Brown's  under- 
ground." 

A  serio-comic  debate  added  more  words,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  banter,  a  musical  fellow  strung  a 
rhythmic  sentence  and  trolled  it  to  the  Methodist 
tune.  "John  Brown's  body  lies  a  mould'rin'  in  the 
ground"  was  taken  up  by  others  who  knew  the  air, 
the  following  line  was  improvised  almost  instantly, 
and  soon,  to  the  accompaniment  of  pick,  shovel, 
and  crowbar, — 

His  soul  goes  marching  on, 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  343 

— rounded  the  couplet  with  full  lung  power  through 
all  the  repetitions,  till  the  inevitable  "glory,  glory 
hallelujah"  had  the  voice  of  every  soldier  in  the 
fort.  The  song  "took,"  and  the  marching  chorus 
of  the  Federal  armies  of  the  Civil  War  was  started 
on  its  way.  Mrs.  Howe  gave  it  a  poem  that  made 
its  rusticity  sublime,  and  the  "  Battle  Hymn  of  the 
Republic"  began  a  career  that  promises  to  run  till 
battle  hymns  cease  to  be  sung. 

Julia  Ward  was  born  in  New  York  city.  May  27, 
18 19.  In  1843  she  became  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Gridley  Howe,  the  far-famed  philanthropist  and 
champion  of  liberty,  and  with  him  edited  an  anti- 
slavery  paper,  the  Boston  Commonwealth,  until  the 
Civil  War  closed  its  mission.  During  the  war  she 
was  active  and  influential — and  has  never  ceased 
to  be  so — in  the  cause  of  peace  and  justice,  and  in 
every  philanthropic  movement.  Her  great  hymn 
first  brought  her  prominently  before  the  public,  but 
her  many  other  writings  would  have  made  a  literary 
reputation.  Her  four  surviving  children  are  all  emi- 
nent in  the  scientific  and  literary  world. 

KELLER  ^S  AMERICAN  HYMN. 

Naturally  the  title  suggests  the  authorship  of  the 
ode,  but  fate  made  Keller  a  musician  rather  than 
a  poet  and  hymnist,  and  the  honors  of  the  fine 
anthem  are  divided.  At  the  grand  performance 
which  created  its  reputation,  the  hymn  of  Dr.  O.  W. 
Holmes  was  substituted  for  the  composer's  words. 
This  is  Keller's  first  stanza: 


344         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Speed  our  republic,  O  Father  on  high! 

Lead  us  in  pathways  of  justice  and  right, 
Rulers,  as  well  as  the  ruled,  one  and  all. 

Girdle  with  virtue  the  armor  of  might. 
Hail!  three  times  hail,  to  our  country  and  flag! 

Rulers,  as  well  as  the  ruled,  one  and  all. 
Girdle  with  virtue  the  armor  of  might; 

Hail!  three  times  hail,  to  our  country  and  flag! 

**Flag"  was  the  unhappy  word  at  the  end  of 
every  one  of  the  four  stanzas.  To  match  a  short 
vowel  to  an  orotund  concert  note  for  two  beats  and 
a  "hold'*  was  impossible.  When  the  great  Peace 
Jubilee  of  1872,  in  Boston,  was  projected,  Dr. 
Holmes  was  applied  to,  and  responded  with  a  lyric 
that  gave  each  stanza  the  rondeau  effect  designed 
by  the  composer,  but  replaced  the  flat  final  with  a 
climax  syllable  of  breadth  and  music: 

Angel  of  Peace,  thou  hast  wandered  too  long! 

Spread  thy  white  wings  to  the  sunshine  of  love! 
Come  while  our  voices  are  blended  in  song. 

Fly  to  our  ark  like  the  storm-beaten  dove! 
Fly  to  our  ark  on  the  wings  of  the  dove. 

Speed  o'er  the  far-sounding  billows  of  song, 
Crown'd  with  thine  olive-leaf  garland  of  love. 

Angel  of  Peace,  thou  hast  waited  too  long! 

^     :ic     :^     :^     ^     ^ 

Angels  of  Bethlehem,  answer  the  strain! 

Hark!    a  new  birth-song  is  filling  the  sky! 
Loud  as  the  storm-wind  that  tumbles  the  main. 

Bid  the  full  breath  of  the  organ  reply. 
Let  the  loud  tempest  of  voices  reply. 

Roll  its  long  surge  like  the  earth-shaking  main! 
Swell  the  vast  song  till  it  mounts  to  the  sky! 

Angels  of  Bethlehem,  echo  the  strain! 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  345 

But  the  glory  of  the  tune  was  Keller's  own. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  a  prize  of  ^500  had 
been  offered  by  a  committee  of  American  gentlemen 
for  the  best  "national  hymn"  (meaning  words  and 
music).  Mr.  Keller,  though  a  foreigner,  was  a 
naturalized  citizen  and  patriot  and  entered  the  lists 
as  a  competitor  with  the  zeal  of  a  native  and  the 
ambition  of  an  artist.  Sometime  in  1866  he  finished 
and  copyrighted  the  noble  anthem  that  bears  his 
name,  and  then  began  the  struggle  to  get  it  before 
the  public  and  test  its  merit.  To  enable  him  to 
bring  it  out  before  the  New  York  Academy  of 
Music,  w^here  (unfortunately)  he  determined  to 
make  his  first  trial,  his  brother  kindly  lent  him  four 
hundred  dollars  (which  he  had  laid  by  to  purchase 
a  little  home),  and  he  borrowed  two  hundred  more 
elsewhere. 

The  performance  proved  a  failure,  the  total 
receipts  being  only  forty-two  dollars.  Keller  was 
;S500  in  debt,  and  his  brother's  house-money  was 
gone.  But  he  refused  to  accept  his  failure  as  final. 
Boston  (where  he  should  have  begun)  was  intro- 
duced to  his  masterpiece  at  every  opportunity,  and 
gradually,  with  the  help  of  the  city  bands  and  a  few 
public  concerts,  a  decided  liking  for  it  was  worked 
up.  It  was  entered  on  the  program  of  the  Peace  Ju- 
bilee and  sung  by  a  chorus  of  ten  thousand  voices. 
The  effect  was  magnificent.  "Keller's  American 
Hymn"  became  a  recognized  star  number  in  the 
repertoire  of  "best"  national  tunes;  and  now  few 


346         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

public  occasions  where  patriotic  music  is  demanded 
omit  it  in  their  menu  of  song.* 

It  is  pathetic  to  know  that  the  composer's  one 
great  success  brought  him  only  a  barren  renown. 
The  prize  committee,  on  the  ground  that  none  of 
the  competing  pieces  reached  the  high  standard  of 
excellence  contemplated,  withheld  the  $500,  and 
Keller's  work  received  merely  the  compliment  of 
being  judged  worth  presentation.  The  artist  had 
his  copyright,  but  he  remained  a  poor  man. 

Matthias  Keller  w^as  born  at  Ulm,  Wurtemberg, 
March  20,  1813.  In  his  youth  he  was  both  a  musi- 

*In  Butterworth's    "Story  of  the  Tunes y'''*  under  the  account  of  Keller's 
grand  motet,  the  following  sacred  hymn  is  inserted  as  "often  sung  to  it:" — 

Father  Almighty,  we  bow  at  thy  feet; 

Humbly  thy  grace  and  thy  goodness  we  own. 
Answer  in  love  when  thy  children  entreat, 

Hear  our  thanksgiving  ascend  to  thy  throne. 
Seeking  thy  blessing,  in  worship  we  meet. 

Trusting  our  souls  on  thy  mercy  alone; 
Father  Almighty,  we  bow  at  thy  feet. 

Breathe,  Holy  Spirit,  thy  comfort  divine, 
Tune  every  voice  to  thy  music  of  peace; 

Hushed  in  our  hearts,  with  one  whisper  of  thine, 
Pride  and  the  tumult  of  passion  will  cease. 

Joy  of  the  watchful,  who  wait  for  thy   sign, 
Hope  of  the  sinful,  who  long  for  release. 

Breathe,  Holy  Spirit,  thy  comfort  divine. 

God  of  salvation,  thy  glory  we  sing, 

Honors  to  thee  in  thy  temple  belong; 
Welcome  the  tribute  of  gladness  we  bring, 

Loud-pealing  organ   and   chorus  of   song. 
While  our  high   praises,  Redeemer   and   King, 

Blend  with  the  notes  of  the  angelic  throng, 
God  of  salvation,  thy  glory  we  sing. 

— T heron  Brown. 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  347 

cian  and  a  painter.  Coming  to  this  country,  he 
chose  the  calHng  that  promised  the  better  and 
quicker  wages,  playing  in  bands  and  theatre 
orchestras,  but  never  accumulating  money.  He 
could  make  fine  harmonies  as  well  as  play  them, 
but  English  was  not  his  mother-tongue,  and  though 
he  wrote  a  hundred  and  fifty  songs,  only  one  made 
him  well-known.  When  fame  came  to  him  it  did 
not  bring  him  wealth,  and  in  his  latter  days,  crippled 
by  partial  paralysis,  he  went  back  to  his  early  art 
and  earned  a  living  by  painting  flowers  and  re- 
touching portraits  and  landscapes.  He  died  in 
1875,  only  three  years  after  his  Coliseum  triumph. 

"GOD  BLESS  OUR  NATIVE  LAND." 


This  familiar  patriotic  hymn  is  notable — though 
not  entirely  singular — for  having  two  authors. 
The  older  singing-books  signed  the  name  of  J.  S. 
Dwight  to  it,  until  inquiring  correspondence 
brought  out  the  testimony  and  the  joint  claim  of 
Dwight  and  C.  T.  Brooks,  and  it  appeared  that 
both  these  scholars  and  writers  translated  it  from 
the  German.  Later  hymnals  attach  both  their 
names  to  the  hymn.* 

John  Sullivan  Dwight,  born,  in  Boston,  May  13, 
18 13,  was  a  virtuoso  in  music,  and  an  enthusiastic 
student  of  the  art  and  science  of  tonal  harmony. 
He  joined  a  Harvard  musical  club  known  as  "The 

♦For  a  full  account  of  this  disputed  hymn,  and  the  curious  trick  of  memory 
which  confused  jour  names  in  the  question  of  its  authorship,  see  Dr.  Benson's 
Studies  of  Familiar  Hymns,  pp.  179—190 


34^  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Pierian  Sodality'*  while  a  student  at  the  University, 
and  after  his  graduation  became  a  prolific  writer 
on  musical  subjects.  Six  years  of  his  life  were 
passed  in  the  "Brook  Farm  Community."  He 
was  best  known  by  his  serial  magazine,  Dwight's 
Journal  of  Music,  which  was  continued  from  1852 
to  1 88 1.     His  death  occurred  in  1893. 

Rev.  Charles  Timothy  Brooks,  the  translator  of 
Faust,  was  born,  in  Salem,  Mass.,  June  20,  1813, 
being  only  about  a  month  younger  than  his  friend 
Dwight.  Was  a  student  at  Harvard  University 
and  Divinity  School  1829-1835,  and  was  ordained 
to  the  Unitarian  ministry  and  settled  at  Newport, 
R.I.  He  resigned  his  charge  there  ( 1871)  on  account 
of  ill  health,  and  occupied  himself  with  literary 
work  until  his  death,  Jan.  14,  1883. 

God  bless  our  native  land  I 
Firm  may  she  ever  stand 

Through  storm  and  night! 
When  the  wild  tempests  rave, 
Ruler  of  wind  and  wave, 
Do  Thou  our  country  save 

By  Thy  great  might! 

For  her  our  prayer  shall  rise 
To  God  above  the  skies; 

On  Him  we  wait. 
Thou  who  art  ever  nigh, 
Guarding  with  watchful  eye, 
To  Thee  aloud  we  cry, 

God  save  the  State! 

The  tune  of  "Dort,"  by  Lowell  Mason,  has  long 
been  the  popular  melody  for  this  hymn.     Indeed 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  349 

the  two  were  united  by  Mason  himself.  It  is 
braver  music  than  "America,"  and  would  have 
carried  Dr.  Smith's  hymn  nobly,  but  the  borrowed 
tune,  on  the  whole,  better  suits  "My  Country  'tis 
of  thee," — and  besides,  it  has  the  advantage  of  a 
middle-register  harmony  easy  for  a  multitude  of 
voices. 

"THOU,  TOO,  SAIL  ON,  O  SHIP  OF  STATE," 

The  closing  canto  of  Longfellow's  "Launch- 
ing of  the  Ship,"  almost  deserves  a  patriotic  hymn- 
tune,  though  its  place  and  use  are  commonly  with 
school  recitations. 

"GOD  OF  OUR  FATHERS,  KNOWN  OF  OLD." 

Rudyard  Kipling,  in  a  moment  of  serious  re- 
flection on  the  flamboyant  militarism  of  British 
sentiment  during  the  South  African  War,  wrote 
this  remarkable  "Recessional,"  so  strikingly  un- 
like his  other  war-time  poems.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
he  did  not  suddenly  repent  his  Christian  impulse, 
but  with  the  chauvinistic  cry  around  him,  "Our 
Country,  right  or  wrong!"  he  seems  to  have  felt 
the  contrast  of  his  prayer — and  flung  it  into  the 
waste-basket.  His  watchful  wife  rescued  it  (the 
story  says)  and  bravely  sent  it  to  the  London 
Times.  The  world  owes  her  a  debt.  The  hymn 
is  not  only  an  anthem  for  Peace  Societies,  but  a 
tonic  for  true  patriotism.  When  Freedom  fights 
in  self-defense,  she  need  not  force  herself  to  "for- 
get" the  Lord  of  Hosts. 


350  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old, 

Lord  of  our  far-flung  battle-line, 
Beneath  whose  awful  hand  we  hold 

Dominion  over  palm  and  pine; 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet. 

Lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget. 

The  tumult  and  the  shouting  dies. 

The  captains  and  the  kings  depart, 
Still  stands  Thine  ancient   sacrifice, 

An  humble  and  a  contrite  heart. 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet. 

Lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget. 

Far-called,  our  navies  melt  away, 

On  dune  and  headland  sinks  the  fire; 

Lo  all  our  pomp  of  yesterday 
Is  one  with  Nineveh  and  Tyre. 

Judge  of  the  nations,  spare  us  yet. 
Lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget. 

If,  drunk  with  sight  of  power,  we  loose 
Wild  tongues  that  have  not  Thee  in  awe. 

Such  boasting  as  the  Gentiles  use 
Or  lesser  breeds  without  the  law, 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet. 
Lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget. 

For  heathen  heart  that  puts  her  trust, 

In  reeking  tube  and  iron  shard. 
All  valiant  dust  that  builds  on  dust 

And  guarding,  calls  not  Thee  to  guard. 
For  frantic  boast  and  foolish  word 

Thy  mercy  on  thy  people.  Lord! 

Had  Kipling  cared  more  for  his  poem,  and  kept 
it  longer  in  hand,  he  might  have  revised  a  line  or 
two  that  would   possibly   seem   commonplace  to 


PATRIOTIC    HYMNS.  35 1 

him — and  corrected  the  grammar  In  the  first  line 
of  the  second  stanza.  But  of  so  fine  a  composition 
there  is  no  call  for  finical  criticism.  The  "Reces- 
sional" is  a  product  of  the  poet's  holiest  mood. 
"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him" — as  the 
old  Hebrew  phrase  is,  and  for  the  time  he  was  a 
rapt  prophet,  with  a  backward  and  a  forward 
vision.  Providence  saved  the  hymn,  and  it  touched 
and  sank  Into  the  better  mind  of  the  nation.  It  is 
already  learned  b)^  heart — and  sung — wherever 
English  is  the  common  speech,  and  will  be  heard 
In  numerous  translations,  with  the  wish  that  there 
were  more  patriotic  hymns  of  the  same  Christian 
temper  and  strength. 

Rudyard  Kipling  was  born  in  HIndostan  In  1865. 
Even  with  his  first  youthful  experiments  In  the  field 
of  literature  he  was  hailed  as  the  coming  apostle  of 
muscular  poetry  and  prose.  For  a  time  he  made 
America  his  home,  and  it  was  while  here  that  he 
faced  death  through  a  fearful  and  protracted  sickness 
that  brought  him  very  near  to  God.  He  has  visited 
many  countries  and  described  them  all,  and,  though 
sometimes  his  imagination  drives  a  reckless  pen, 
the  Christian  world  hopes  much  from  a  man  whose 
genius  can  make  the  dullest  souls  listen. 

THE  TUNE, 

The  music  set  to  Kipling's  hymn  Is  Stalner's 
"Magdalen" — (not  his  "Magdahna,"  which  is  a 
common-metre  tune) — and  bears  the  marks  of  hav- 


352         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

ing  been  written  to  the  words,  con  amore.  It  is  a 
grave  and  earnest  melody  in  D  flat,  with  two  bars 
in  unison  at  "  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet,'* 
making  the  utterance  of  the  prayer  a  deep  and  pow- 
erful finale. 

John  Stainer,  Doctor  of  Music,  born  June  6, 1840, 
was  nine  years  the  chorister  of  St.  Paul's,  London, 
and  afterwards  organist  to  the  University  of  Oxford. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  various  musical  societies  of 
the  Kingdom,  and  a  Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor.  His  talent  for  sacred  music  is  rare  and  ver- 
satile, and  beseems  to  have  consecrated  himself  as  a 
musician  and  composer  to  the  service  of  the  church. 

Every  civilized  nation  has  its  patriotic  hymns.  In 
fact  what  makes  a  nation  a  nation  is  largely  the  uni- 
fying influences  of  its  common  song.  Even  the 
homeless  Hebrew  nation  is  kept  together  by  its 
patriotic  Psalms.  The  ethnic  melodies  would  fill 
a  volume  with  their  story.  The  few  presented  in 
this  chapter  represent  their  range  of  quaHty  and 
character — defiant  as  the  Marseillaise,  thrilling  as 
"Scots'  wha  hae,"  joyful  as  "The  Star-spangled 
Banner,"  breezy  and  bold  as  the  "Ranz  de 
Vaches,"  or  sweet  as  the  "Switzers'  Song  of  Home." 


CHAPTER  X. 


SAILORS'   HYMNS. 


The  oldest  sailors'  hymn  is  found  in  the  107th 
Psalm,  vss.  23-30: 

They  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships, 
To  do  business  in  great  waters, 
These  see  the  works  of  the  Lord, 
And  His  wonders  in  the  deep,  etc. 

Montgomery  has  made  this  metrical  rendering 
of  these  verses : 

They  that  toil  upon  the  deep. 

And  in  vessels  light  and  frail 
O'er  the  mighty  waters  sweep 
With  the  billows  and  the  gale, 

Mark  what  wonders  God  performs 
When  He  speaks,  and,  unconfined, 

Rush  to  battle  all  His  storms 
In  the  chariots  of  the  wind. 

The  hymn  is  not  in  the  collections,  and  has  no  tune. 
Addison  paraphrased  the  succeeding  verses  of  the 
Psalm  in  his  hymn,  "How  are  thy  servants  blessed 
O  Lord,"  sung  to  Hugh  Wilson's*  tune  of  "Avon": 

♦Hugh  Wilson  was  a  Scotch  weaver  of  Kflmamock,  born  1764;  died  1824. 
C353) 


354  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

When  by  the  dreadful  tempest  borne 

High  on  the  broken  wave, 
They  know  Thou  art  not  slow  to  hear, 

Nor  impotent  to  save. 

The  storm  is  laid,  the  winds  retire, 

Obedient  to  Thy  will; 
The  sea  that  roars  at  Thy  command. 

At  Thy  command  is  still. 

"FIERCE  WAS  THE  WILD  BILLOW." 

(Zo^epaq  TptxujJLta?) 

The  ancient  writer,  Anatolius,  who  composed 
this  hymn  has  for  centuries  been  confounded  with 
"St"  AnatoHus,  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  who 
died  A.  D.  458.  The  author  of  the  hymn  Hved  in 
the  seventh  century,  and  except  that  he  wrote  sev- 
eral hymns,  and  also  poems  in  praise  of  the  martyrs, 
nothing  or  next  to  nothing,  is  known  of  him.  The 
"Wild  Billow"  song  was  the  principle  seaman's 
hymn  of  the  early  church.  It  is  being  introduced  into 
modern  psalmody,  the  translation  in  use  ranking 
among  the  most  successful  of  Dr.  John  Mason 
Neale's  renderings  from  the  Greek. 

Fierce  was  the  wild  billow, 

Dark  was  the  night; 
Oars  labored  heavily, 

Foam  glimmered  white; 
Trembled  the  mariners; 

Peril  was  nigh; 
Then  said  the  God  of  God, 

"Peace!    It  is  II" 


sailors'  hymns.  355 

Ridge  of  the  mountain  wave, 

Lower  thy  crest! 
Wail  of  Euroclydon, 

Be  thou  at  rest! 
Sorrow  can  never  be, 

Darkness  must  fly, 
When  saith  the  Light  of  Light, 

"Peace!    It  is  I!" 

THE    TUNE. 

The  desire  to  represent  the  antiquity  of  the  hymn 
and  the  musical  style  of  its  age,  and  on  the  other 
hand  the  wish  to  utilize  it  in  the  tune-manuals  for 
Mariners'  Homes  and  Seamen's  Bethels,  makes  a 
difficulty  for  composers  to  study — and  the  task  is 
still  open  to  competition.  Considering  the  peculiar 
tone  that  sailors'  singing  instinctively  takes — and 
has  taken  doubtless  from  time  immemorial — per- 
haps the  plaintive  melody  of  "Neale,"  by  J.  H. 
Cornell,  comes  as  near  to  a  vocal  success  as  could 
be  hoped.  The  music  is  of  middle  register  and  less 
than  octave  range,  natural  scale,  minor,  and  the 
triple  time  lightens  a  little  the  dirge-like  harmony 
while  the  weird  sea-song  effect  is  kept.  A  chorus 
of  singing  tars  must  create  uncommon  emotion, 
chanting  this  coronach  of  the  storm. 

John  Henry  Cornell  was  born  in  New  York  city. 
May  8,  1838,  and  was  for  many  years  organist  at 
St.  Paul's  Chapel,  Trinity  Church.  He  is  the  author 
of  numerous  educational  works  on  the  theory  and 
practice  of  music.  He  composed  the  above  tune  in 
1872.     Died  March  i,  1894. 


356         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 
"AVE,  MARIS  STELLA." 

One  of  the  titles  which  the  Roman  Catholic  world 
applied  to  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
was  "  Stella  Maris, "  "  Star  of  the  Sea. "  Columbus, 
being  a  Catholic,  sang  this  hymn,  or  caused  it  to  be 
sung,  every  evening,  it  is  said,  during  his  perilous 
voyage  to  an  unknown  land.  The  marine  epithet 
by  which  the  Virgin  Mary  is  addressed  is  admir- 
able as  a  stroke  of  poetry,  and  the  hymn — of  six 
stanzas — is  a  prayer  which,  though  oflFered  to  her 
as  to  a  divine  being,  was  no  doubt  sincere  in  the 
simple  sailor  hearts  of  1492. 

The  two  following  quatrains  finish  the  voyagers' 
petition,  and  point  it  with  a  doxology — • 

Vitam  praesta  puram. 
Iter  para  tutum, 
Ut  videntes  Jesum 
Semper  collaetemur. 

Sit  laus  Deo  Patri, 
Summo  Christo  decus, 
Spfritui  Sancto, 
Tribus  honor  unusi 

A  free  translation  is — 

Guide  us  safe,  unspotted 
Through  hfe's  long  endeavor 
Till  with  Thee  and  Jesus 
We  rejoice  forever. 

Praise  to  God  the  Father, 
Son  and  Spirit  be; 
One  and  equal  honor 
To  the  Holy  Three. 


SAILORS      HYMNS.  357 

Inasmuch  as  this  ancient  hymn  did  not  attain  the 
height  of  its  popularity  and  appear  in  all  the  brev- 
iaries until  the  loth  century,  its  assumed  age  has 
been  doubted,  but  its  reputed  author,  Venantius 
Fortunatus,  Bishop  of  Poitiers,  was  born  about  531, 
at  Treviso,  Italy,  and  died  about  609.  Though  a 
religious  teacher,  he  was  a  man  of  romantic  and  con- 
vivial instincts — a  strange  compound  of  priest,  poet 
and  beau  chevalier.  Duffield  calls  him  "the  last 
of  the  classics  and  first  of  the  troubadours,"  and 
states  that  he  was  the  "  first  of  the  Christian  poets 
to  begin  that  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary  which 
rose  to  a  passion  and  sank  to  an  idolatry. " 

TUNES 

To  this  ancient  rogation  poem  have  been  composed 
by  Aiblinger  (Johann  Caspar),  Bavarian,  {lyjg- 
1867,)  by  Proch  (Heinrich),  Austrian,  (1809-1878,) 
by Tadolini  (Giovanni),  Italian,  (1803-1872,)  and  by 
many  others.  The  "Ave,  Maris  Stella"  is  in  con- 
stant use  in  the  Romish  church,  and  Its  English 
translation  by  Caswall  is  a  favorite  hymn  in  the 
Lyra  Caiholica. 

"AVE,  SANCTISSIMA  1" 

This  beautiful  hymn  is  not  Introduced  here  in 
order  of  time,  but  because  It  seems  akin  to  the 
foregoing,  and  born  of  its  faith  and  traditions — 
though  it  sounds  rather  too  fine  for  a  sailor  song,  on 


35^  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

ship  or  shore.  Like  the  other,  the  tuneful  prayer  is 
the  voice  of  ultramontane  piety  accustomed  to  deify 
Mary,  and  is  entitled  the  "Evening  Song  to  the 
Virgin." 

Ave  Sanctissima!  we  lift  our  souls  to  Thee 

Ora  pro  nobis!    'tis  nightfall  on  the  sea. 

Watch  us  while  shadows  lie 

Far  o'er  the  waters  spread; 

Hear  the  heart's  lonely  sigh; 
Thine,  too,  hath  bled. 

Thou  that  hast  looked  on  death. 
Aid  us  when  death  is  near; 
Whisper  of  heaven  to  faith; 
Sweet  Mother,  hear! 

Ora  pro  nobis!  the  wave  must  rock  our  sleep; 
Ora,  Mater,  ora!  Star  of  the  Deep! 

This  v^as  first  written  in  four  separate  quatrains, 
"  'Tis  nightfall  on  the  sea"  being  part  of  the  first 
instead  of  the  second  line,  and  "We  lift  our  souls," 
etc.,  was  "  Our  souls  rise  to  Thee,"  while  the  apostro- 
phe at  the  end  read,  "Thou  Star  of  the  Deep." 

The  fact  of  the  modern  origin  of  the  hymn  does 
not  make  it  less  probable  that  the  earlier  one  of 
Fortunatus  suggested  it.  It  was  written  by  Mrs. 
Hemans,  and  occurs  between  the  forty-third  and 
forty-fourth  stanzas  of  her  long  poem,  "The 
Forest  Sanctuary." 

A  Spanish  Christian  who  had  embraced  the 
Protestant  faith  fled  to  America  (such  is  the  story 
of  the  poem)  to  escape  the  cruelties  of  the  In- 
quisition, and  took  with  him  his  Catholic  wife  and 
his  child.    During  the  voyage  the  wife  pined  away 


SAILORS      HYMNS.  359 

and  died,  a  martyr  to  her  conjugal  loyalty  and 
love.  The  hymn  to  the  Virgin  purports  to  have 
been  her  daily  evening  song  at  sea,  plaintively 
remembered  by  the  broken-hearted  husband  and 
father  in  his  forest  retreat  on  the  American  shore 
with  his  motherless  boy. 

The  music  v^as  composed  by  a  sister  of  Mrs. 
Hemans,  Mrs.  Hughes,  who  probably  arranged 
the  Hues  as  they  now  stand  in  the  tune. 

The  song,  though  its  words  appear  in  the  Paro- 
chial Hymn-hook,  seems  to  be  in  use  rather  as 
parlor  music  than  as  a  part  of  the  liturgy. 

"JESUS,  LOVER  OF  MY  SOUL." 

The  golden  quality  of  this  best-known  and  loved 
of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns  is  attested  by  two  in- 
dorsements that  cannot  be  impeached;  its  peren- 
nial life,  and  the  blessings  of  millions  who  needed 
it. 

Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul 

Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly. 
While  the  billows  near  me  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high. 

Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past, 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 

O  receive  my  soul  at  last! 

Wesley  is  believed  to  have  written  it  when  a 
young  man,  and  story  and  legend  have  been  busy 
with  the  circumstances  of  its  birth.  The  most 
poetical  account  alleges  that  a  dove  chased  by  a 


360         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

hawk  dashed  through  his  open  window  into  his 
bosom,  and  the  inspiration  to  write  the  line — 

Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly, 

— was  the  genesis  of  the  poem.  Another  report  has  it 
that  one  day  Mr.  Wesley,  being  pursued  by  in- 
furiated persecutors  at  Killalee,  County  Down, 
Ireland,  took  refuge  in  a  milk-house  on  the  home- 
stead of  the  Island  Band  Farm.  When  the  mob 
came  up  the  farmer's  wife,  Mrs.  Jane  Lowrie 
Moore,  offered  them  refreshments  and  secretly 
let  out  the  fugitive  through  a  window  to  the  back 
garden,  where  he  concealed  himself  under  a  hedge 
till  his  enemies  went  away.  When  they  had  gone 
he  had  the  hymn  in  his  mind  and  partly  jotted 
down.  This  tale  is  circumstantial,  and  came 
through  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Hoover,  Jane  Moore's 
granddaughter,  who  told  it  many  years  ago  to  her 
pastor,  Dr.  William  Laurie  of  Bellefonte,  Pa.  So 
careful  a  narrative  deserves  all  the  respect  due  to 
a  family  tradition.  Whether  this  or  still  another 
theory  of  the  incidental  cause  of  the  wonderful 
hymn  shall  have  the  last  word  may  never  be  decided 
nor  is  it  important. 

There  is  "antecedent  probability,"  at  least,  in 
the  statement  that  Wesley  wrote  the  first  two 
Stanzas  soon  after  his  perilous  experience  in  a 
storm  at  sea  during  his  return  voyage  from  America 
to  England  in  1736.  In  a  letter  dated  Oct.  28  of 
that  year,  he  describes  the  storm  that  washed  away 
a  large  part  of  the  ship's  cargo,  strained  her  seams 


sailors'  hymns.  361 

so  that  the  hardest  pumping  could  not  keep  pace 
with  the  inrushing  water,  and  finally  forced  the 
captain  to  cut  the  mizzen-mast  away.  Young 
Wesley  was  ill  and  sorely  alarmed,  but  knew,  he 
says,  that  he  "abode  under  the  shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty,'' and  finally,  "in  this  dreadful  moment," 
he  was  able  to  encourage  his  fellow-passengers  who 
were  "in  an  agony  of  fear,"  and  to  pray  with  and 
for  them. 

It  was  his  awful  hazard  and  bare  escape  in  that 
tempest  that  prompted  the  following  stanzas — 

O  Thou  who  didst  prepare 
The  ocean's  caverned  cell, 
And  teach  the  gathering  waters  there 
To  meet  and  dwell; 
Toss'd  in  our  reeling  bark 
Upon  this  briny  sea, 
Thy  wondrous  ways,  O  Lord,  we  mark. 
And  sing  to  Thee. 

:(c    4:     *     %     %     :<: 

Borne  on  the  dark'ning  wave. 
In  measured  sweep  we  go. 
Nor  dread  th'  unfathomable  grave. 
Which  yawns  below; 
For  He  is  nigh  who  trod 
Amid  the  foaming  spray. 
Whose  billows  own'd  th'  Incarnate  God, 
And  died  away. 

And  naturally  the  memory  of  his  almost  ship- 
wreck on  the  wild  Atlantic  colored  more  or  less  the 
visions  of  his  muse,  and  influenced  the  metaphors 
of  his  verse  for  years. 


362         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

The  popularity  of  "  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul  '*  not 
only  procured  it,  at  home,  the  name  of  "England's 
song  of  the  sea,"  but  carried  it  with  "the  course  of 
Empire"  to  the  West,  where  it  has  reigned  with 
"Rock  of  Ages,"  for  more  than  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  joint  primate  of  inspired  human  songs. 

Compiled  incidents  of  its  heavenly  service  would 
fill  a  chapter.  A  venerable  minister  tells  of  the 
supernal  comfort  that  lightened  his  after  years  of 
sorrow  from  the  dying  bed  of  his  wife  who  whis- 
pered with  her  last  breath,  "Hide  me,  O  my 
Saviour,  hide." 

A  childless  and  widowed  father  in  Washington 
remembers  with  a  more  than  earthly  peace,  the  wife 
and  mother's  last  request  for  Wesley's  hymn,  and 
her  departure  to  the  sound  of  its  music  to  join  the 
spirit  of  her  babe. 

A  summer  visitor  in  Philadelphia,  waiting  on  a 
hot  street-corner  for  a  car  to  Fairmount  Park,  over- 
heard a  quavering  voice  singing  the  same  hymn 
and  saw  an  emaciated  hand  caressing  a  little  plant 
in  an  open  window — and  carried  away  the  picture 
of  a  fading  life,  and  the  words — 
Other  refuge  have  I  none, 
Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee. 

On  one  of  the  fields  of  the  Civil  War,  just  after 
a  bloody  battle,  the  Rev.  James  Rankin  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  bent  over  a  dying 
soldier.  Asked  if  he  had  any  special  request  to 
make,  the  brave  fellow  replied,  "Yes,  sing  *  Jesus, 
Lover  of  my  Soul.'  " 


sailors'  hymns.  363 

The  clergyman  belonged  to  a  church  that  sang 
only  Psalms.  But  what  a  tribute  to  that  ubiqui- 
tous hymn  that  such  a  man  knew  it  by  heart!  A 
moment's  hesitation  and  he  recalled  the  words,  and, 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  sang  a  sacred  song  that 
was  not  a  Psalm.    When  he  reached  the  lines, — 

Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 
O  receive  my  soul  at  last, 

— his  hand  was  in  the  frozen  grip  of  a  dead  man, 
whose  face  wore  "the  light  that  never  was  on  sea 
or  land."  The  minister  went  away  saying  to  him- 
self, "  If  this  hymn  is  good  to  die  by,  it  is  good  to  live 
by." 

THE   TUNE. 

Of  all  the  tone-masters  who  have  studied  and 
felt  this  matchless  hymn,  and  given  it  vocal  wings — 
Marsh,  Zundel,  Bradbury,  Dykes,  Mason — none 
has  so  exquisitely  uttered  its  melting  prayer, 
syllable  by  syllable,  as  Joseph  P.  Holbrook  in  his 
"Refuge."  Unfortunately  for  congregational  use, 
it  is  a  duo  and  quartet  score  for  select  voices;  but 
the  four-voice  portion  can  be  a  chorus,  and  is  often 
so  sung.  Its  form  excludes  it  from  some  hymnals 
or  places  it  as  an  optional  beside  a  congregational 
tune.  But  when  rendered  by  the  choir  on  special 
occasions  its  success  in  conveying  the  feeling 
and  soul  of  the  words  is  complete.  There  is  a 
prayer  in  the  swell  of  every  semitone  and  the  touch 
of  every  accidental,  and  the  sweet  concord  of  the 


364  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

duet — soprano  with  tenor  or  bass — pleads  on  to 
the  end  of  the  fourth  Hne,  where  the  full  harmony 
reinforces  it  like  an  organ  with  every  stop  in  play. 
The  tune  is  a  rill  of  melody  ending  in  a  river  of 
song.* 

For  general  congregational  use,  Mason's  "Whit- 
man" has  wedded  itself  to  the  hymn  perhaps 
closer  than  any  other.  It  has  revival  associations 
reaching  back  more  than  sixty  years. 

"WHEN  MARSHALLED  ON  THE  NIGHTLY  PLAIN." 

Perhaps  no  line  in  all  familiar  hymnology  more 
readily  suggests  the  name  of  its  author  than  this. 
In  the  galaxy  of  poets  Henry  Kirke  White  was  a 
brief  luminary  whose  briUiancy  and  whose  early 
end  have  appealed  to  the  hearts  of  three  gener- 
ations. He  was  born  at  Nottingham,  Eng.,  in  the 
year  1795.  His  father  was  a  butcher,  but  the  son, 
disliking  the  trade,  was  apprenticed  to  a  weaver 
at  the  age  of  fourteen.  Two  years  later  he  entered 
an  attorney's  office  as  copyist  and  student. 

The  boy  imbibed  sceptical  notions  from  some 
source,  and  might  have  continued  to  scofF  at 
religion  to  the  last  but  for  the  experience  of  his 
intimate  friend,  a  youth  named  Almond,  whose  life 
was  changed  by  witnessing  one  day  the  happy 
death  of  a  Christian  believer.     Decided  to  be  a 


♦Holbrook  has  also  an  arrangement  of  Franz  Abt's,  "When  the  Swallows 
Homeward  Fly"  written  to  "Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul,"  but  with  Wesley ''s 
words  it  is  far  less  effective  than  his  original  work.  "Refuge"  is  not  a  manufac- 
ture but  an  inspiration. 


sailors'  hymns.  365 

Christian  himself,  it  was  some  time  before  he 
mustered  courage  to  face  White's  ridicule  and 
resentment.  He  simply  drew  away  from  him. 
When  White  demanded  the  reason  he  was  obliged 
to  tell  him  that  they  two  must  henceforth  walk 
diflFerent  paths. 

"Good  God!"  exclaimed  White,  "you  surely 
think  worse  of  me  than  I  deserve!" 

The  separation  was  a  severe  shock  to  Henry, 
and  the  real  grief  of  it  sobered  his  anger  to  reflec- 
tion and  remorse.  The  light  of  a  better  life  came 
to  him  when  his  heart  melted — and  from  that  time 
he  and  Almond  were  fellows  in  faith  as  well  as 
friendship. 

In  his  hymn  the  young  poet  tells  the  stormy 
experience  of  his  soul,  and  the  vision  that  guided 
him  to  peace. 

When,  marshalled  on  the  nightly  plain, 

The  glittering  host  bestud  the  sky, 
One  star  alone  of  all  the  train 

Can  fix  the  sinner's  wandering  eye. 
Hark,  hark!  to  God  the  chorus  breaks, 

From  every  host,  from  every  gem. 
But  one  alone  the  Saviour  speaks; 

It  is  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

Once  on  the  raging  seas  I  rode: 

The  storm  was  loud,  the  night  was  dark; 
The  ocean  yawned,  and  rudely  blowed 

The  wind  that  tossed  my  foundering  bark. 
Deep  horror  then  my  vitals  froze. 

Death-struck,  I  ceased  the  tide  to  stem. 
When  suddenly  a  star  arose; 

It  was  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 


366  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

It  was  my  guide,  my  light,  my  all. 

It  bade  my  dark  forebodings  cease; 
And  through  the  storm  and  danger's  thrall. 

It  led  me  to  the  port  of  peace. 
Now,  safely  moored,  my  perils  o'er, 

I'll  sing,  first  in  night's  diadem, 
For  ever  and  for  evermore, 

The  Star,  the  Star  of  Bethlehem! 

Besides  this  delightful  hymn,  with  its  graphic 
sea-faring  metaphors,  two  others,  at  least,  of  the 
same  boy-poet  hold  their  place  in  many  of  the 
church  and  chapel  collections: 

The  Lord  our  God  is  clothed  with  might, 

The  winds  obey  His  will; 
He  speaks,  and  in  his  heavenly  height 

The  roUing  sun  stands  still. 

And— 

Oft  in  danger,  oft  in  woe. 
Onward,  Christians,  onward  go. 

Henry  Kirke  White  died  in  the  autumn  of  1806, 
when  he  was  scarcely  twenty  years  old.  His  "Ode 
to  Disappointment,"  and  the  miscellaneous  flowers 
and  fragments  of  his  genius,  make  up  a  touching 
volume.  The  fire  of  a  pure,  strong  spirit  burning 
through  a  consumptive  frame  is  in  them  all. 

THE   TUNE. 

"When,  marshalled  on  the  mighty  plain**  has 
a  choral  set  to  it  in  the  Methodist  Hymnal — credi- 
ted to  Thos.  Harris,  and  entitled  "Crimea" — 
which    divides   the    three    stanzas    into   six,    and 


I 


SAILORS*    HYMNS.  36/ 

breaks  the  continuity  of  the  hymn.  Better  sing  it 
in  its  original  form — long  metre  double — to  the 
dear  old  melody  of  "  Bonny  Doon."  The  voices 
of  Scotland,  England  and  America  are  blended  in  it. 
The  origin  of  this  Caledonian  air,  though  some- 
times fancifully  traced  to  an  Irish  harper  and 
sometimes  to  a  wandering  piper  of  the  Isle  of  Man, 
is  probably  lost  in  antiquity.  Burns,  however, 
whose  name  is  linked  with  it,  tells  this  whimsical 
story  of  it,  though  giving  no  date  save  "a  good 
many  years  ago," — (apparently  about  1753).  A 
virtuoso,  Mr.  James  Millar,  he  writes,  wishing  he 
were  able  to  compose  a  Scottish  tune,  was  told  by  a 
musical  friend  to  sit  down  to  his  harpsichord  and 
make  a  rhythm  of  some  kind  solely  on  the  black 
keys,  and  he  would  surely  turn  out  a  Scotch  tune. 
The  musical  friend,  pleased  at  the  result  of  his 
jest,  caught  the  string  of  plaintive  sounds  made  by 
Millar,  and  fashioned  it  into  "  Bonny  Doon." 

'TAND  AHEAPr 

The  burden  of  this  hymn  was  suggested  by  the 
dying  words  of  John  Adams,  one  of  the  crew  of 
the  English  ship  Bounty  who  in  1789  mutinied, 
set  the  captain  and  officers  adrift,  and  ran  the 
vessel  to  a  tropical  island,  where  they  burned  her. 
In  a  few  years  vice  and  violence  had  decimated 
the  wicked  crew,  who  had  exempted  themselves 
from  all  divine  and  human  restraint,  until  the  last 
man  alive  was  left  with  only  native  women  and 


368  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

half-breed  children  for  company.  His  true  name 
was  Alexander  Smith,  but  he  had  changed  it  to  John 
Adams. 

The  situation  forced  the  lonely  Englishman  to 
a  sense  of  solemn  responsibility,  and  in  bitter  re- 
morse, he  sought  to  retrieve  his  wasted  life,  and 
spend  the  rest  of  his  exile  in  repentance  and  repen- 
tant works.  He  found  a  Bible  in  one  of  the  dead 
seamen's  chests,  studied  it,  and  organized  a  com- 
munity on  the  Christian  plan.  A  new  generation 
grew  up  around  him,  reverencing  him  as  governor, 
teacher,  preacher  and  judge,  and  speaking  his 
language — and  he  was  wise  enough  to  exercise  his 
authority  for  the  common  good,  and  never  abuse  it. 
Pitcairn's  Island  became  "the  Paradise  of  the 
Pacific."  It  has  not  yet  belied  its  name.  Besides 
its  opulence  of  rural  beauty  and  natural  products, 
its  inhabitants,  now  the  third  generation  from  the 
"  mutineer  missionary,"  are  a  civilized  community 
without  the  vices  of  civilization.  There  is  no 
licentiousness,  no  profanity,  no  Sabbath-breaking, 
no  rum  or  tobacco — and  no  sickness. 

John  Adams  died  in  1829 — ^f^er  an  island  resi- 
dence of  forty  years.  In  his  extreme  age,  while  he 
lay  waiting  for  the  end,  he  was  asked  how  he  felt  in 
view  of  the  final  voyage. 

"Land  ahead!"  murmured  the  old  sailor — and 
his  last  words  were,  "  Rounding  the  Cape — into 
the  harbor." 

That  the  veteran's  death-song  should  be  per- 
petuated in  sacred  music  is  not  strange. 


SAILORS*    HYMNS.  369 

Land  ahead!  its  fruits  are  waving 

O'er  the  hills  of  fadeless  green; 
And  the  living  waters  laving 

Shores  where  heavenly  forms  are  seen. 

Chorus. 

Rocks  and  storms  I'll  fear  no  more, 
When  on  that  eternal  shore; 
Drop  the  anchor!  furl  the  sail! 
I  am  safe  within  the  veil. 

Onward,  bark!  the  cape  I'm  rounding; 

See,  the  blessed  wave  their  hands; 
Hear  the  harps  of  God  resounding 

From  the  bright  immortal  bands. 

The  authorship  of  the  hymn  is  credited  to  Rev. 
E.  Adams — whether  or  not  a  descendent  of  the 
Island  Patriarch  we  have  no  information.  It  was 
written  about  1869. 

The  ringing  melody  that  bears  the  words  was 
composed  by  John  Miller  Evans,  born  Nov.  30, 
1825;  ^^^^  J^'^-  ^y  1892.  The  original  air — with  a 
simple  accompaniment — was  harmonized  by  Hu- 
bert P.  Main,  and  published  in  Winnowed  Hymns 
in  1873. 

"ETERNAL  FATHER,  STRONG  TO  SAVE/' 

This  is  sung  almost  universally  on  English  ships. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  Sir  Evelyn  Wood's 
favorites.  The  late  William  Whiting  wrote  it  in 
i860,  and  it  was  incorporated  with  some  altera- 
tions in  the  standard  English  Church  collection 


370  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

entitled  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern.  It  is  a 
translation  from  a  Latin  hymn,  a  triune  litany  ad- 
dressing a  stanza  each  to  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Spirit.  The  whole  four  stanzas  have  the  same 
refrain,  and  the  appeal  to  the  Father,  who  bids — 

— the  mighty  ocean  deep 

Its  own  appointed  limits  keep, 

— varies  in  the  appeal  to  Christ,  who — 

— walked  upon  the  foaming  deep. 

The  third  and  fourth  stanzas  are  the  following: 

O  Holy  Spirit,  Who  didst  brood 
Upon  the  waters  dark  and  rude, 
And  bid  their  angry  tumult  cease, 
And  give,  for  wild  confusion,  peace; 
Oh,  hear  us  when  we  cry  to  Thee 
For  those  in  peril  on  the  sea. 

O  Trinity  of  love  and  power. 
Our  brethren  shield  in  danger's  hour; 
From  rock  and  tempest,  fire  and  foe, 
Protect  them  wheresoe'er  they  go: 

Thus  evermore  shall  rise  to  Thee 
Glad  hymns  of  praise  from  land  to  sea. 

William  Whiting  was  born  at  Kensington,  Lon- 
don, Nov.  I,  1825.  H^  ^'^s  Master  of  Winchester 
College  Chorister's  School.    Died  in  1878. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  choral  named  "Melita"  (in  memory  of  St. 
Paul's  shipwreck)  was  composed  by  Dr.  Dykes 
in  1861,  and  its  strong  and  easy  chords  and  mod- 


SAILORS     HYMNS.  371 

erate  note  range  are  nobly  suited  to  the  devout 
hymn. 

"THE  OCEAN  HATH  NO  DANGER." 

This  charming  sailors'  lyric  is  the  work  of  the 
Rev.  Godfrey  Thring.  Its  probable  date  is  1862, 
and  it  appeared  in  Morell  and  Howe's  collection 
and  in  Hymns  Congregational  and  Others,  pub- 
lished in  1866,  which  contained  a  number  from 
his  pen.  Rector  Thring  was  born  at  Alford,  Som- 
ersetshire, Eng.,  March  25,  1823,  and  educated  at 
Shrewsbury  School  and  Baliol  College,  Oxford. 
In  1858  he  succeeded  his  father  as  Rector  of  Alford. 

He  compiled  A  Church  of  England  Hymnhook 
in  1880. 

The  ocean  hath  no  danger 

For  those  whose  prayers  are  made 
To  Him  who  in  a  manger 

A  helpless  Babe  was  laid. 
Who,  bom  to  tribulation 

And  every  human  ill, 
The  Lord  of  His  creation. 

The  wildest  waves  can  still. 

:tc     He     t     He     :(c     * 

Though  life  itself  be  waning 

And  waves  shall  o'er  us  sweep. 
The  wild  winds  sad  complaining 

Shall  lull  us  still  to  sleep, 
For  as  a  gentle  slumber 

E'en  death  itself  shall  prove 
To  those  whom  Christ  doth  number 

As  worthy  of  His  love. 


372  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

The  tune  "Morlalx/*  given  to  the  hymn  by  Dr. 
Dykes,  is  simple,  but  a  very  sweet  and  appropriate 
harmony. 

"FIERCE  RAGED  THE  TEMPEST  ON  THE  DEEP." 

■  ■  ■      '  .III      

This  fine  lyric,  based  on  the  incident  in  the  storm 
on  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  is  the  work  of  the  same  writer 
and  owes  its  tune  "St.  Aelred"  to  the  same  com- 
poser. 

The  melody  has  an  impressive  rallentando  of 
dotted  semibreves  to  the  refrain,  "Peace,  be  still," 
after  the  more  rapid  notes  of  the  three-line  stanzas. 

The  wild  winds  hushed,  the  angry  deep 
Sank  hke  a  Httle  child  to  sleep, 
The  sullen  waters  ceased  to  leap. 

4:     :|e     4:     He     :4c     4: 

So  when  our  life  is  clouded  o'er 
And  storm-winds  drift  us  from  the  shore 
Say,  lest  we  sink  to  rise  no  more, 
"Peace!  be  still." 

"PULL  FOR  THE  SHORE.'' 


When  a  shipwrecked  crew  off  a  rocky  coast  were 
hurrying  to  the  long-boat,  a  sailor  begged  leave  to 
run  back  to  the  ship's  forecastle  and  save  some  of 
his  belongings. 

"No  sir,"  shouted  the  Captain,  "she's  sinking! 
There's  nothing  to  do  but  to  pull  for  the  shore." 
Philip  P.  Bliss  caught  up  the  words,  and  wrought 
them  into  a  hymn  and  tune. 


SAILORS     HYMNS.  ^73 

Light  In  the  darkness,  sailor,  day  is  at  hand! 
See  o'er  the  foaming  billows  fair  Haven's  land; 
Drear  was  the  voyage,  sailor,  now  almost  o'er; 
Safe  in  the  life-boat,  sailor,  pull  for  the  shore! 

Chorus. 

Pull  for  the  shore,  sailor,  pull  for  the  shore! 
Heed  not  the  rolling  waves,  but  bend  to  the  oar; 
Safe  in  the  life-boat,  sailor,  cling  to  self  no  more; 
Leave  the  poor  old  stranded  wreck  and  pull  for  the  shore! 

The  hymn-tune  is  a  buoyant  allegro — solo  and 
chorus — full  of  hope  and  courage,  and  both  imagery 
and  harmony  appeal  to  the  hearts  of  seamen.  It  is 
popular,  and  has  long  been  one  of  the  song  numbers 
in  demand  at  religious  services  both  on  sea  and  land. 

"JESUS,  SAVIOUR,  PILOT  ME." 

The   Rev.   Edward   Hopper,  D.D.  wrote   this 
hymn  while  pastor  of  Mariner's  Church  at  New 
York  harbor,   "The  Church  of  the  Sea  and  Land." 
He  was  born  in   1818,  and  graduated  at  Union 
Theological  Seminary  in  1843. 

Jesus,  Saviour,  pilot  me 
Over  life's  tempestuous  sea, 
Unknown  waves  before  me  roll. 
Hiding  rock  and  treacherous  shoal; 
Chart  and  compass  come  from  Thee, 
Jesus,  Saviour,  pilot  me! 

Only  three  stanzas  of  this  rather  lengthy  hymn 
are  in  common  use. 


374         STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

THE   TUNE. 

Without  title  except  "Savior,  pilot  me."  A  simple 
and  pleasing  melody  composed  by  John  Edgar 
Gould,  late  of  the  firm  of  Gould  and  Fischer,  piano 
dealers,  Phila.,  Pa.  He  was  born  in  Bangor,  Me., 
April  9,  1822.  Conductor  of  music  and  composer  of 
psalm  and  hymn  tunes  and  glees,  he  also  compiled 
and  published  no  less  than  eight  books  of  church, 
Sunday-school,  and  secular  songs.  Died  in  Algiers, 
Africa,  Feb.  13,  1875. 

^THROW  OUT  THE  LIFE-LINE." 

This  is  one  of  the  popular  refrains  that  need  but 
a  single  hearing  to  fix  themselves  in  common 
memory  and  insure  their  ov^n  currency  and  eclat. 

The  Rev.  E.  S.  UflFord,  v^ell-knov^n  as  a  Baptist 
preacher,  lecturer,  and  evangelist,  v^as  witnessing 
a  drill  at  the  life-saving  station  on  Point  Allerton, 
Nantasket  Beach,  when  the  order  to  "throw  out 
the  life-line"  and  the  sight  of  the  apparatus  in 
action,  combined  with  the  story  of  a  shipwreck  on 
the  spot,  left  an  echo  in  his  mind  till  it  took  the 
form  of  a  song-sermon.  Returning  home,  he 
pencilled  the  words  of  this  rousing  hymn,  and, 
being  himself  a  singer  and  player,  sat  down  to  his 
instrument  to  match  the  lines  with  a  suitable  air. 
It  came  to  him  almost  as  spontaneously  as  the 
music  of  "The  Ninety  and  Nine"  came  to  Mr. 
Sankey.     In  fifteen  minutes  the  hymn-tune  was 


SAILORS     HYMNS.  375 

made — so  far  as  the  melody  went.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  sheet  form  in  1888,  and  afterwards  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Sankey,  harmonized  by  Mr.  Steb- 
bins,  and  published  in  Winnowed  Songs,  1890. 
Included  in  Gospel  Hymns,  Nov.  6,  1891. 

Ever  since  it  has  been  a  favorite  with  singing 
seamen,  and  has  done  active  service  as  one  of  our 
most  stirring  field-songs  in  revival  work. 

Throw  out  the  Life-line  across  the  dark  wave, 
There  is  a  brother  whom  some  one  should  save; 
Somebody's  brother!  oh,  who,  then,  will  dare 
To  throw  out  the  Life-line,  his  peril  to  share  ? 

Throw  out  the  Life-line  with  hand  quick  and  strong! 

Why  do  you  tarry,  why  linger  so  long .? 

See!  he  is  sinking;  oh,  hasten  today — 

And  out  with  the  Life-boat!  away,  then  away  I 

Chorus. 

Throw  out  the  Life-line! 

Throw  out  the  Life-line! 
Some  one  is  drifting  away; 

Throw  out  the  Life-line! 

Throw  out  the  Life-line! 
Some  one  is  sinking  today. 

One  evening,  in  the  midst  of  their  hilarity  at 
their  card-tables,  a  convivial  club  in  one  of  the  large 
Pennsylvania  cities  heard  a  sweet,  clear  female 
voice  singing  this  solo  hymn,  followed  by  a  chime 
of  mingled  voices  in  the  chorus.  A  room  in  the 
building  had  been  hired  for  religious  meetings,  and 
tonight  was  the  first  of  the  series.  A  strange  cool- 
ness dampened  the  merriment  in  the  club-room, 


376         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

as  the  singing  went  on,  and  the  gradual  silence 
became  a  hush,  till  finally  one  member  threw  down 
his  cards  and  declared,  "If  what  they're  saying  is 
right,  then  we're  wrong." 

Others  followed  his  example,  then  another,  and 
another. 

There  is  a  brother  whom  some  one  should  save. 

Quietly  the  revellers  left  their  cards,  cigars  and 
half-emptied  glasses  and  went  home. 

Said  the  ex-member  who  told  the  story  years 
after  to  Mr.  Ufford,  "Throw  Out  the  Life-line' 
broke  up  that  club." 

He  is  today  one  of  the  responsible  editors  of  a 
great  city  daily — and  his  old  club-mates  are  all 
holding  positions  of  trust. 

A  Christian  man,  a  prosperous  manufacturer  in 
a  city  of  Eastern  Massachusetts,  dates  his  first 
religious  impressions  from  hearing  this  hymn  when 
sung  in  public  for  the  first  time,  twenty  years  ago. 

Visiting  California  recently,  Mr.  UfFord  sang  his 
hymn  at  a  watch-meeting  and  told  the  story  of  the 
loss  of  the  Elsie  Smith  on  Cape  Cod  in  1902,  ex- 
hibiting also  the  very  life-line  that  had  saved  sixteen 
lives  from  the  wreck.  By  chance  one  of  those  six- 
teen was  in  the  audience. 

An  English  clergyman  who  was  on  duty  at  Gib- 
raltar when  an  emigrant  ship  went  on  the  rocks 
in  a  storm,  tells  with  what  pathetic  power  and 
effect  "Throw  out  the  Life-line"  was  sung  at  a 
special  Sunday  service  for  the  survivors. 


SAILORS     HYMNS.  'l^^'] 

At  one  of  Evan  Roberts'  meetings  in  Laughor, 
Wales,  one  speaker  related  the  story  of  a  "vision," 
when  in  his  room  alone,  and  a  Voice  that  bade  him 
pray,  and  when  he  knelt  but  could  not  pray,  com- 
manded him  to  "Throw  out  the  Life-line/'  He 
had  scarcely  uttered  these  words  in  his  story  when 
the  whole  great  congregation  sprang  to  its  feet  and 
shouted  the  hymn  together  like  the  sound  of  many 
waters. 

"There  is  more  electricity  in  that  song  than  in 
any  other  I  ever  heard,"  Dr.  Cuyler  said  to  Mr. 
Sankey  when  he  heard  him  sing  it.  Its  electricity 
has  carried  it  nearly  round  the  world. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Smith  Ufford  was  born  in 
Newark,  N.  J.,  185 1,  and  educated  at  Stratford 
Academy  (Ct.)  and  Bates  Theological  Seminary, 
Me.  He  held  several  pastorates  in  Maine  and 
Massachusetts,  but  a  preference  for  evangelistic 
work  led  him  to  employ  his  talent  for  object-teach- 
ing in  illustrated  religious  lectures  through  his  own 
and  foreign  lands,  singing  his  hymn  and  enforcing 
it  with  realistic  representation.  He  is  the  author 
and  compiler  of  several  Sunday-school  and  chapel 
song-manuals,  as  Converts^  Praisey  Life-long  SongSy 
Wonderful  Love  and  Gathered  Gems, 


CHAPTER  XI. 


HYMNS  OF  WALES, 


In  writing  this  chapter  the  task  of  identifying 
the  tune^  and  its  author,  in  the  case  of  every  hymn, 
would  have  required  more  time  and  labor  than, 
perhaps,  the  importance  of  the  facts  would  justify. 

Peculiar  interest,  however,  attaches  to  Welsh 
hymns,  even  apart  from  the  airs  which  accompany 
them,  and  a  general  idea  of  Welsh  music  may  be 
gathered  from  the  tone  and  metre  of  the  lyrics  in- 
troduced. More  particular  information  would 
necessitate  printing  the  music  itself. 

From  the  days  of  the  Druids,  Wales  has  been  a 
land  of  song.  From  the  later  but  yet  ancient  time 
when  the  people  learned  the  Christian  faith,  it  has 
had  its  Christian  psalms.  The  "March  of  the 
White  Monks  of  Bangor"  (7th  centur)^-)  is  an  epic 
of  bravery  and  death  celebrating  the  advance  of 
Christian  martyrs  to  their  bloody  fate  at  the  hands 
of  the  Saxon  savages.  "  Its  very  rhythm  pictures 
the  long  procession  of  w^hite-cowled  patriots  bear- 
ing peaceful  banners  and  in  faith  taking  their  way 
to  Chester  to  stimulate  the  valor  of  their  country- 

(378) 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  379 

men."  And  ever  since  the  "  Battle  of  the  Hallelu- 
jahs"— near  Chirk  on  the  border,  nine  miles  from 
Wrexham — when  the  invading  Danes  were  driven 
from  the  field  in  fright  by  the  rush  of  the  Cymric 
army  shouting  that  mighty  cry,  every  Christian 
poet  in  Wales  has  had  a  hallelujah  In  his  verse. 

Through  the  centuries,  while  chased  and  hunted 
by  their  conquerors  among  the  Cambrian  hills,  but 
clinging  to  their  independent  faith,  or  even  when 
paralyzed  into  spiritual  apathy  under  tribute  to  a 
foreign  church,  the  heavenly  song  still  murmured 
In  a  few  true  hearts  amidst  the  vain  and  vicious 
lays  of  carnal  mirth.  It  survived  even  when  people 
and  priest  alike  seemed  utterly  degenerate  and  god- 
less. The  voice  of  Walter  Bute  (1372)  rang  true  for 
the  religion  of  Jesus  in  its  purity.  Brave  John 
Oldcastle,  the  martyr,  (141 7,)  clung  to  the  gospel 
he  learned  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  William  Wroth, 
clergyman,  saved  from  fiddling  at  a  drunken  dance 
by  a  disaster  that  turned  a  house  of  revelry  Into  a 
house  of  death,  confessed  his  sins  to  God  and  be- 
came the  "Apostle  of  South  Wales."  The  young 
vicar,  Rhys  Pritchard  (1579)  rose  from  the  sunken 
level  of  his  profession,  rescued  through  an  Incident 
less  tragic.  Accustomed  to  drink  himself  to  in- 
ebriety at  a  public-house — a  socially  winked-at  in- 
dulgence then — he  one  day  took  his  pet  goat  with 
him,  and  poured  liquor  down  the  creature's  throat. 
The  refusal  of  the  poor  goat  to  go  there  again  forced 
the  reckless  priest  to  reflect  on  his  own  ways.  He 
forsook  the  ale-house  and  became  a  changed  man. 


380  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Among  his  writings — later  than  this — is  found 
the  following  plain,  blunt  statement  of  what  con- 
tinued long  to  be  true  of  Welsh  society,  as  repre- 
sented in  the  common  use  of  Sunday  time. 

Of  all  the  days  throughout  the  rolling  year 
There's  not  a  day  we  pass  so  much  amiss, 
There's  not  a  day  wherein  we  all  appear 
So  irreligious,  so  profaned  as  this. 

A  day  for  drunkenness,  a  day  for  sport, 
A  day  to  dance,  a  day  to  lounge  away, 
A  day  for  riot  and  excess,  too  short 
Amongst  the  Welshmen  is  the  Sabbath  day. 

A  day  to  sit,  a  day  to  chat  and  spend, 
A  day  when  fighting  'mongst  us  most  prevails, 
A  day  to  do  the  errands  of  the  Fiend — 
Such  is  the  Sabbath  in  most  parts  of  Wales. 

Meantime  some  who  could  read  the  language — 
and  the  better  educated  (like  the  author  of  the 
above  rhymes)  knew  English  as  well  as  Welsh — 
had  seen  a  rescued  copy  of  Wycliffs  New  Testa- 
ment, a  precious  publication  seized  and  burnt  (like 
the  bones  of  its  translator)  by  hostile  ecclesiastics, 
and  suppressed  for  nearly  two  hundred  years. 
Walter  Bute,  like  Obadiah  who  hid  the  hundred 
prophets,  may  well  be  credited  with  such  secret 
salvage  out  of  the  general  destruction.  And  there 
were  doubtless  others  equally  alert  for  the  same 
quiet  service.  We  can  imagine  how  far  the  stealthy 
taste  of  that  priceless  book  would  help  to  strengthen 
a  better  religion  than  the  one  doled  out  profession- 
ally to  the  multitude  by  a  Civil  church;   and  how 


HYMNS    OF    WALES  38 1 

it  kept  the  hallelujah  alive  in  silent  but  constant  souls ; 
and  in  how  many  cases  it  awoke  a  conscience  long 
hypnotized  under  corrupt  custom,  and  showed  a 
renegade  Christian  how  morally  untuned  he  was. 

Daylight  came  slowly  after  the  morning  star, 
but  when  the  dawn  reddened  it  was  in  welcome  to 
Pritchard's  and  Penry's  gospel  song;  and  sunrise 
hastened  at  the  call  of  Caradoc,  and  Powell,  and 
Erbury,  and  Maurice,  the  holy  men  who  followed 
them,  some  with  the  trumpet  of  Sinai  and  some 
with  the  harp  of  Calvary. 

Cambria  was  being  prepared  for  its  first  great 
revival  of  religion. 

There  was  no  rich  portfolio  of  Christian  hymns 
such  as  exists  to-day,  but  surely  there  were  not 
wanting  pious  words  to  the  old  chants  of  Bangor 
and  the  airs  of  "  Wild  Wales."  When  time  brought 
Howell  Harris  and  Daniel  Rowland,  and  the  great 
** Reformation"  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
renowned  William  Williams,  "the  Watts  of  Wales," 
appeared,  and  began  his  tuneful  work.  The 
province  soon  became  a  land  of  hymns.  The 
candles  lit  and  left  burning  here  and  there  by 
Penry,  Maurice,  and  the  Owens,  blazed  up  to 
beacon-fires  through  all  the  twelve  counties  when 
Harris,  at  the  head  of  the  mighty  movement,  carried 
with  him  the  sacred  songs  of  Williams,  kindling 
more  lights  everywhere  between  the  Dee  and  the 
British  Channel. 

William  Williams  of  Pantycelyn  was  born  in 
1 71 7,  at  Cefncoed  Farm,  near  Llandovery.    Three 


382  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

years  younger  than  Harris,  (an  Oxford  graduate,) 
and  educated  only  at  a  village  school  and  an 
academy  at  Llwynllwyd,  he  was  the  song  prota- 
gonist of  the  holy  campaign  as  the  other  was  its 
champion  preacher.  From  first  to  last  Williams 
wrote  nine  hundred  and  sixteen  hymns,  some  of 
which  are  still  heard  throughout  the  church  mili- 
tant, and  others  survive  in  local  use  and  affection. 
He  died  Jan.  11,  1 791,  at  Pantycelyn,  where  he  had 
made  his  home  after  his  marriage.  One  of  the 
hymns  in  his  Gloria,  his  second  publication,  may 
well  have  been  his  last.  It  was  dear  to  him  above 
others,  and  has  been  dear  to  devout  souls  in  many 
lands. 

My  God,  my  portion  and  my  love; 

My  all  on  earth,  my  all  above, 
My  all  within  the  tomb; 

The  treasures  of  this  world  below 

Are  but  a  vain,  delusive  show, 
Thy  bosom  is  my  home. 

It  was  fitting  that  Williams  should  name  the 
first  collection  of  his  hymns  (all  in  his  native  Welsh) 
The  Hallelujah.  Its  lyrics  are  full  of  adoration 
for  the  Redeemer,  and  thanksgivings  for  His  work. 

"ONWARD  RIDE  IN  TRIUMPH,  JESUS, " 

Marchog,  Jesu,  yn  llwyddi annus. 

Has  been  sung  in  Wales  for  a  century  and  a  half, 
and  is  still  a  favorite. 

Onward  ride  in  triumph,  Jesus, 
Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh; 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  383 

Neither  earth  nor  Hell's  own  vastness 

Can  Thy  mighty  power  defy. 
In  Thy  Name  such  glory  dwelleth 

Every  foe  withdraws  in  fear, 
All  the  wide  creation  trembleth 

Whensoever  Thou  art  near.* 

The  unusual  militant  strain  in  this  paean  of 
conquest  soon  disappears,  and  the  gentler  aspects 
of  Christ's  atoning  sacrifice  occupy  the  writer's 
mind  and  pen. 

*'IN  EDEN— O  THE  MEMORY!'* 

Tn  Eden  cofiaf  hyny  hyth! 

The  text,  "He  was  wounded  for  our  trans- 
gressions," is  amplified  in  this  hymn,  and  the 
Saviour  is  shown  bruising  Himself  while  bruising 
the  serpent. 

The  first  stanza  gives  the  key-note, — 

In  Eden — O  the  memory! 

What  countless  gifts  were  lost  to  me! 

My  crown,  my  glory  fell; 
But  Calvary's  great  victory 
Restored  that  vanished  crown  to  me; 

On  this  my  songs  shall  dwell; 

— and  the  multitude  of  Williams'  succeeding  "songs" 
that  chant  the  same  theme  shows  how  well  he  kept 

*The  following  shows  the  style  of  Rev.  Elvet  Lewis'  translation: 
Blessed  Jesus,  march  victorious 

With  Thy  sword  fixed  at  Thy  side; 
Neither  death  nor  hell  can  hinder 

The  God-Warrior  in  His  ride. 


384         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

his  promise.  The  following  hymn  in  Welsh 
(Cymmer,  Jesu  fi  feVr  ydwyf)  antedates  the  ad- 
vice of  Dr.  Malan  to  Charlotte  Elliott,  "Come  just 
as  you  are" — . 

Take  me  as  I  am,  O  Saviour, 

Better  I  can  never  be; 
Thou  alone  canst  bring  me  nearer, 

Self  but  draws  me  far    from  Thee. 
I  can  never 
But  within  Thy  wounds  be  saved; 

— and  another  {Mi  Jafla  match  oddi  ar  fy  ngwar) 
reminds  us  of  Bunyan's  Pilgrim  in  sight  of  the 
Cross : 

I'll  cast  my  heavy  burden  down, 

Remembering  Jesus*  pains; 
Guilt  high  as  towering  mountain  tops 

Here  Kims  to  joyful  strains. 

4c     :|e     t     4c     4c    ^k 

He  stretched  His  pure  white  hands  abroad, 

A  crown  of  thorns  He  wore. 
That  so  the  vilest  sinner  might 

Be  cleansed  forevermore; 

Williams  was  called  "The  Sweet  Singer  of 
Wales"  and  "The  Watts  of  Wales"  because  he  was 
the  chief  poet  and  hymn-writer  of  his  time,  but 
the  lady  he  married,  Miss  Mary  Francis,  was 
literally  a  singer,  with  a  voice  so  full  and  melo- 
dious that  the  people  to  whom  he  preached  during 
his  itineraries,  which  she  sometimes  shared  with 
him,  were  often  more  moved  by  her  sweet  hym- 
nody  than  by  his  exhortations.    On  one  occasion 


HYMNS    OF   WALES.  385 

the  good  man,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  put  up  at 
Bridgend  Tavern  in  Llangefin,  Anglesea,  and  a 
mischievous  crowd,  wishing  to  plague  the  "Metho- 
dists,'* planned  to  make  night  hideous  in  the  house 
with  a  boisterous  merry-making.  The  fiddler,  fol- 
lowed by  a  gang  of  roughs,  pushed  his  way  to  the 
parlor,  and  mockingly  asked  the  two  guests  if  they 
would  "have  a  tune.'* 

"Yes,"  replied  Williams,  falling  in  with  his 
banter,  "anything  you  like,  my  lad;  *  Nancy  Jig' 
or  anything  else." 

And  at  a  sign  from  her  husband,  as  soon  as  the 
fellow  began  the  jig,  Mrs.  Williams  struck  in  with 
one  of  the  poet-minister's  well-known  Welsh  hymns 
in  the  same  metre, — 

Gwaed  Dy  groes  sy^n  c*  odi  fyny. 

Calvary's  blood  the  weak  exalteth 
More  than  conquerors  to  be,* 

— and  followed  the  player  note  for  note,  singing  the 
sacred  words  in  her  sweet,  clear  voice,  till  he 
stopped  ashamed,  and  took  himself  off  with  all  his 
gang. 

♦A  less  literal  but  more  hymn-like  translation  is: 

Jesu's  blood  can  raise  the  feeble 

As  a  conqueror  to  stand; 
Jesu's  blood  is  all-prevailing 
O'er  the  mighty  of  the  land: 

Let  the  breezes 
Blow  from  Calvary  on  me. 
Says  the  author  of  Stveet  Singers  of  Wales,  "This  refrain  has  been  the  pass- 
word of  many  powerful  revivals." 


386         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Another  hymn — 

0'  Lie  jar  a!  addfwyn  JesUy 

Speak,  O  speak,  thou  gentle  Jesus, 

— recalls  the  well-known  verse  of  Newton,  "How 
sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds."  Like  many 
of  Williams*  hymns,  it  was  prompted  by  occasion. 
Some  converts  suffered  for  lack  of  a  "clear  ex- 
perience," and  complained  to  him.  They  were 
like  the  disciples  in  the  ship,  "It  was  dark,  and 
Jesus  had  not  yet  come  unto  them."  The  poet- 
preacher  immediately  made  this  hymn-prayer  for 
all  souls  similarly  tried.  Edward  Griffiths  trans- 
lates it  thus: 

Speak,  I  pray  Thee,  gentle  Jesus, 

O  how  passing  sweet  Thy  words, 
Breathing  o'er  my  troubled  spirit. 

Peace  which  never  earth  affords, 
All  the  world's  distracting  voices. 

All  th'  enticing  tones  of  ill. 
At  Thy  accents,  mild,  melodious 

Are  subdued,  and  all  is  still. 

Tell  me  Thou  art  mine,  O  Saviour 

Grant  me  an  assurance  clear. 
Banish  all  my  dark  misgivings. 

Still  my  doubting,  calm  my  fear. 

Besides  his  Welsh  hymns,  published  in  the  first 
and  in  the  second  and  larger  editions  of  his 
Hallelujah,  and  in  two  or  three  other  collections, 
William  Williams  wrote  and  published  two  books 


HYMNS    OF   WALES.  387 

of  English  hymns,*  the  Hosanna  (1759)  and  the 
Gloria  (1772).  He  fills  so  large  a  space  in  the 
hymnology  and  religious  history  of  Wales  that  he 
will  necessarily  reappear  in  other  pages  of  this 
chapter. 

From  the  days  of  the  early  religious  awakenings 
under  the  i6th  century  preachers,  and  after  the 
ecclesiastical  dynasty  of  Rome  had  been  replaced 
by  that  of  the  Church  of  England,  there  were 
periods  when  the  independent  conscience  of  a  few 
pious  Welshmen  rose  against  religious  formalism, 
and  the  credal  constraints  of  "established"  teach- 
ing— and  suffered  for  it.  Burning  heretics  at  the 
stake  had  ceased  to  be  a  church  practice  before 
the  1740's,  but  Howell  Harris,  Daniel  Rowlands, 
and  the  rest  of  the  "Methodist  Fathers,"  with 
their  followers,  were  not  only  ostracised  by  society 
and  haled  before  magistrates  to  be  fined  for  preach- 
ing, and  sometimes  imprisoned,  but  they  were 
chased  and  beaten  by  mobs,  ducked  in  ponds  and 
rivers,  and  pelted  with  mud  and  garbage  when  they 
tried  to  speak  or  sing.  But  they  kept  on  talking 
and  singing.  Harris  (who  had  joined  the  army  in 
1760)  owned  a  commission,  and  once  he  saved 
himself  from  the  fury  of  a  mob  while  preaching — 
with  cloak  over  his  ordinary  dress — by  lifting  his 
cape  and  showing  the  star  on  his  breast.  No  one 
dared  molest  an  officer  of  His  Britannic  Majesty. 

♦Possibly  they  were  written  in  Welsh,  and  translated  into  English  by  hig 
friend  and  neighbor,  Peter  Williams. 


388  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

But  all  were  not  able  to  use  St.  Paul's  expedient  in 
critical  moments.* 

William  Williams  often  found  immunity  in  his 
hymns,  for  like  Luther — and  like  Charles  Wesley 
among  the  Cornwall  sea-robbers — he  caught  up  the 
popular  glees  and  ballad-refrains  of  the  street  and 
market  and  his  wife  sang  their  music  to  his  words. 
It  is  true  many  of  these  old  Welsh  airs  were  minors, 
like  "Elvy"  and  "Babel"  (a  significant  name  in 
English)  and  would  not  be  classed  as  "glees"  in 
any  other  country — always  excepting  Scotland — 
but  they  had  the  swing,  and  their  mode  and  style 
were  catchy  to  a  Welsh  multitude.  In  fact  many  of 
these  uncopyrighted  bits  of  musical  vernacular 
were  appropriated  by  the  hymnbook  makers,  and 
christened  with  such  titles  as  "Pembroke,"  "Ara- 
bia," "Brymgfryd,"  "Cwyfan,"  "Thydian,"  and 
the  two  mentioned  above. 

It  was  the  time  when  Whitefield  and  the  Wes- 
leys  were  sweeping  the  kingdom  with  their  con- 
quering eloquence,  and  Howell  Harris  (their  fellow- 
student  at  Oxford)  had  sided  with  the  conservative 
wing  of  the  Gospel  Reformation  workers,  and  be- 
come a  "Whitfield  Methodist."  The  Welsh 
Methodists,  aJ  exemplum,  marched  with  this  Cal- 
vinistic  branch — as  they  do  today.  Each  division 
had  its  Christian  bard.  Charles  Wesley  could  put 
regenerating  power  into  sweet,  poetic  hymns,  and 
William  Williams'  lyrical  preaching  made  the  Bible 
a  travelling  pulpit.    The  great  "  Beibl  Peter  Wil- 

♦Acts  22:  25. 


HYMNS    OF   WALES.  389 

liams"  with  its  commentaries  in  Welsh,  since  so 
long  reverenced  and  cherished  in  provincial  fami- 
lies, was  not  published  till  1770,  and  for  many  the 
printed  Word  was  far  to  seek.*  But  the  gospel 
minstrels  carried  the  Word  with  them.  Some  of  the 
long  hymns  contained  nearly  a  whole  body  of 
divinity. 

The  Welsh  learn  their  hymns  by  heart,  as  they 
do  the  Bible — a  habit  inherited  from  those  old  days 
of  scarcity,  when  memory  served  pious  people  in- 
stead of  print — so  that  a  Welsh  prayer-meeting  is 
never  embarrassed  by  a  lack  of  books.  An  anec- 
dote illustrates  this  characteristic  readiness.  In 
February,  1797,  when  Napoleon's  name  was  a 
terror  to  England,  the  French  landed  some  troops 
near  Fishguard,  Pembrokeshire.  Mounted  heralds 
spread  the  news  through  Wales,  and  in  the  village 
of  Rhydybont,  Cardiganshire,  the  fright  nearly 
broke  up  a  religious  meeting;  but  one  brave 
woman,  Nancy  Jones,  stopped  a  panic  by  singing 
this  stanza  of  one  of  Thomas  Williams'  hymns, — 

Diuw  OS  wyt  am  ddyhenur  bya. 

If  Thou  wouldst  end  the  world,  O  Lord, 
Accomplish  first  Thy  promised  Word, 
And  gather  home  with  one  accord 
From  every  part  Thine  own, 


*As  an  incident  contributory  to  the  formation  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  the  story  has  been  often  repeated  of  the  little  girl  who  wept  when  she 
missed  her  Catechism  appointment,  and  told  Thomas  Charles  of  Bala  that  the 
bad  weather  was  the  cause  of  it,  for  she  had  to  walk  seven  miles  to  find  a  Bible 
every  time  she  prepared  her  lessons.    See  page  380. 


390  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Send  out  Thy  Word  from  pole  to  pole, 
And  with  Thy  blood  make  thousands  whole, 
And,  after  that  come  down. 

Nancy  Jones  would  have  been  a  useful  member  of 
the  "Singing  Sisters"  band,  so  efficient  a  century 
or  more  afterwards. 

The  tunes  of  the  Reformation  under  the  "Metho- 
dist Fathers"  continued  far  down  the  century  to  be 
the  country  airs  of  the  nation,  and  reverberations 
of  the  great  spiritual  movement  were  heard  in  their 
rude  music  in  the  mountain-born  revival  led  by 
Jack  Edward  Watkin  in  1779  and  in  the  local 
awakenings  of  1791  and  1817.  Later  in  the  19th 
century  new  hymns,  and  many  of  the  old,  found 
new  tunes,  made  for  their  sake  or  imported  from 
England  and  America. 

The  sanctified  gift  of  song  helped  to  make  1829 
a  year  of  jubilee  in  South  Wales,  nor  was  the  same 
aid  wanting  during  the  plague  in  1831,  when  the 
famous  Presbyterian  preacher,  John  Elias,*  won 
nearly  a  whole  county  to  Christ. 

An  accession  of  temperance  hymns  in  Wales 
followed    the    spread    of    the    "  Washingtonian" 

♦Those  who  read  his  biography  will  call  him  the  "Seraphic  John  Elias." 

His  name  was  John  Jones  when  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  presby- 
tery. What  followed  is  a  commentary  on  the  embarrassing  frequency  of  a 
common  name,  nowhere  realized  so  universally  as  it  is  in  Wales. 

"What  is  his  father's  name?"  asked  the  moderator  when  John  Jones  was 
announced. 

"Elias  Jones,"  was  the  answer. 

"Then  call  the  young  man  John  Elias,"  said  the  sp>eaker,  "otherwise  we 
shall  by  and  by  have  nobody  but  John  Joneses." 

And  "John  Elias"  it  remained. 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  39I 

movement  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  in  1840, 
and  began  a  moral  reformation  in  the  county  of 
Merioneth  that  resulted  in  a  spiritual  one,  and 
added  to  the  churches  several  thousand  converts, 
scarcely  any  of  whom  fell  away. 

The  revival  of  185 1-2  was  a  local  one,  but  was 
believed  by  many  to  have  been  inspired  by  a 
celestial  antiphony.  The  remarkable  sounds  were 
either  a  miracle  or  a  psychic  wonder  born  of  the 
intense  imagination  of  a  sensitive  race.  A  few 
pious  people  in  a  small  village  of  Montgomery- 
shire had  been  making  special  prayer  for  an  out- 
pouring of  the  spirit,  but  after  a  week  of  meet- 
ings with  no  sign  of  the  result  hoped  for,  they  were 
returning  to  their  homes,  discouraged,  when  they 
heard  strains  of  sweet  music  in  the  sky.  They 
stopped  in  amazement,  but  the  beautiful  singing 
went  on — voices  as  of  a  choir  invisible,  indistinct  but 
melodious,  in  the  air  far  above  the  roof  of  the  chapel 
they  had  just  left.  Next  day,  when  the  astonished 
worshippers  told  the  story,  numbers  in  the  district 
said  they  had  heard  the  same  sounds.  Some  had 
gone  out  at  eleven  o'clock  to  listen,  and  thought  that 
angels  must  be  singing.  Whatever  the  music  meant, 
the  good  brethren's  and  sisters'  little  meetings  be- 
came crowded  very  soon  after,  and  the  longed-for 
out-pouring  came  mightily  upon  the  neighborhood. 
Hundreds  from  all  parts  flocked  to  the  churches,  all 
ages  joining  in  the  prayers  and  hymns  and  testi- 
monies, and  a  harvest  of  glad  believers  followed 
a  series  of  meetings  "  led  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 


392  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

The  sounds  in  the  sky  were  never  explained; 
but  the  beHef  that  God  sent  His  angels  to  sing  an 
answer  to  the  anxious  prayers  of  those  pious 
brethren  and  sisters  did  no  one  any  harm. 

Whether  this  event  in  Montgomeryshire  was  a 
preparation  for  what  took  place  six  or  seven  years 
later  is  a  suggestive  question  only,  but  when  the 
wave  of  spiritual  power  from  the  great  American 
revival  of  1857-8  reached  England,  its  first  mes- 
senger to  Wales,  Rev.  H.  R.  Jones,  a  Wesleyan,  had 
only  to  drop  the  spark  that  "lit  a  prairie  fire." 
The  reformation,  chiefly  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  Jones  and  Rev.  David  Morgan,  a  Presby- 
terian, with  their  singing  bands,  was  general  and 
lasting,  hundreds  of  still  robust  and  active  Christ- 
ians today  dating  their  new  birth  from  the  Pente- 
cost of  1859  and  its  ingathering  of  eighty  thousand 
souls. 

A  favorite  hymn  of  that  revival  was  the  peni- 
tential cry, — 

0*th  flaem,  0  Dduw!    'r  wy^n  dyfoJ, 

— in  the  seven-six  metre  so  much  loved  in  Wales. 

Unto  Thy  presence  coming, 
O  God,  far  off  I  stand: 
"A  sinner"  is  my  title, 
No  other  I  demand. 

For  mercy  I  am  seeking 

For  mercy  still  shall  cry; 
Deny  me  not  Thy  mercy; 

O  grant  it  or  I  die! 
4:  t  t  *  =f  t 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  393 

I  heard  of  old  that  Jesus, 

Who  still  abides  the  same, 
To  publicans  gave  welcome, 

And  sinners  deep  in  shame. 

Oh  God!  receive  me  with  them, 

Me  also  welcome  in. 
And  pardon  my  transgression, 

Forgetting  all  my  sin. 

The  author  of  the  hymn  was  Thomas  Williams  of 
Glamorganshire,  born  1761;  died  1844.  He  pub- 
lished a  volume  of  hymns,  Waters  of  Bethesdam  1823. 

The  Welsh  minor  tune  of  "Clwyd"  may  appro- 
priately have  been  the  music  to  express  the  contrite 
prayer  of  the  words.  The  living  composer,  John 
Jones,  has  several  tunes  in  the  Welsh  revival 
manual  of  melodies.  Ail  Attodiad. 

The  unparalled  religious  movement  of  1904-5 
was  a  praying  and  singing  revival.  The  apostle 
and  spiritual  prompter  of  that  unbroken  cam- 
paign of  Christian  victories — so  far  as  any  single 
human  agency  counted — was  Evan  Roberts,  of 
Laughor,a  humble  young  worker  in  the  mines,  who 
had  prayed  thirteen  years  for  a  mighty  descent  of 
the  heavenly  blessing  on  his  country  and  for  a  clear 
indication  of  his  own  mission.  His  convictions 
naturally  led  him  to  the  ministry,  and  he  went  to 
Newcastle  Emlyn  to  study.  Evangelical  work  had 
been  done  by  two  societies,  made  up  of  earnest 
Christians,  and  known  as  the  "Forward  Move- 
ment" and  the  "Simultaneous  Mission."  Begin- 
nings of  a  special  season  of  interest  as  a  result  of 


394  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

their  efforts,  appeared  in  the  young  people's  prayer 
meetings  in  February,  1904,  at  New  Quay,  Cardi- 
ganshire. The  interest  increased,  and  when  branch- 
work  was  organized  a  young  praying  and  singing 
band  visited  Newcastle  Emlyn  in  the  course  of 
one  of  their  tours,  and  held  a  rally  meeting.  Evan 
Roberts  went  to  the  meeting  and  found  his  own 
mission.  He  left  his  studies  and  consecrated  him- 
self, soul  and  body,  to  revival  work.  In  every 
spiritual  and  mental  quality  he  was  surpassingly 
well-equipped.  To  the  quick  sensibility  of  his 
poetic  nature  he  added  the  inspiration  of  a  seer 
and  the  zeal  of  a  devotee.  Like  Moses,  Elijah, 
and  Paul  in  Arabian  solitudes,  and  John  in  the 
Dead  Sea  wilds,  he  had  prepared  himself  in 
silence  and  alone  with  God;  and  though,  on 
occasion,  he  could  use  effectively  his  gift  of  words, 
he  stood  distinct  in  a  land  of  matchless  pulpit 
orators  as  "the  silent  leader."  Without  preaching 
he  dominated  the  mood  of  his  meetings,  and  with- 
out dictating  he  could  change  the  trend  of  a  service 
and  shape  the  next  song  or  prayer  on  the  intuition 
of  a  moment.  In  fact,  judged  by  its  results,  it 
was  God  Himself  who  directed  the  revival,  only 
He  endowed  His  minister  with  the  power  of  div- 
ination to  watch  its  progress  and  take  the  stum- 
bling-blocks out  of  the  way.  By  a  kind  of  hallowed 
psychomancy,  that  humble  man  would  detect  a 
discordant  presence,  and  hush  the  voices  of  a  con- 
gregation till  the  stubborn  soul  felt  God  in  the 
stillness,  and  penitently  surrendered. 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  395 

Many  tones  of  the  great  awakening  of  1859  were 
heard  again  in  1904-5, — the  harvest  season  with- 
out a  precedent,  when  men,  women  and  children 
numbering  ten  per  cent  of  the  whole  population  of 
a  province  were  gathered  into  the  membership  of 
the  church  of  Christ  But  there  were  tones  a  cen- 
tury older  heard  in  the  devotions  of  that  harvest- 
home  in  Wales.  A  New  England  Christian  would 
have  felt  at  home,  with  the  tuneful  assemblies  at 
Laughor,Trencynon,  Bangor,  Bethesda,  Wrexham, 
Cardiff,  or  Liverpool,  singing  Lowell  Mason's 
**Meribah''  or  the  clarion  melody  of  Edson's 
"Lenox"  to  Wesley's — 

Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow, 
The  gladly  solemn  sound; 

— or  to  his  other  well-known — 

Arise  my  soul,  arise. 

Shake  off  thy  guilty  fears, 
The  bleeding  Sacrifice 

In  thy  behalf  appear. 

In  short,  the  flood  tide  of  1904  and  1905  brought 
in  very  little  new  music  and  very  few  new  hymns. 
"Aberystwyth"  and  "Tanymarian,"  the  minor 
harmonies  of  Joseph  Parry  and  Stephens;  E.  M. 
Price's  "St.  Garmon;"  R.  M.  Pritchard's,  "Hy- 
frydol,"  and  a  few  others,  were  choral  favorites, 
but  their  composers  were  all  dead,  and  the  con- 
gregations loved  the  still  older  singers  who  had 
found  familiar  welcome  at  their  altars  and  firesides. 
The  most  cherished  and  oftenest  chosen  hymns 


396  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

were  those  of  William  Williams  and  Ann  Griffiths, 
of  Charles  Wesley,  of  Isaac  Watts — indeed  the 
very  tongues  of  fire  that  appeared  at  Jerusalem 
took  on  the  Cymric  speech,  and  sang  the  burning 
lyrics  of  the  poet-saints.  And  in  their  revival  joy 
Calvinistic  Wales  sang  the  Nev^  Testament  with 
more  of  its  Johannic  than  of  its  Pauline  texts.  The 
covenant  of  peace — Christ  and  His  Cross — is  the 
theme  of  all  their  hymns. 

"  HERE  BEHOLD  THE  TENT  OF  MEETING." 

Dyma  Bahell  y  cyfarfod. 

This  hymn,  written  by  Ann  Griffiths,  is  entitled 
"Love  Eternal,'*  and  praises  the  Divine  plan  to 
satisfy  the  Law  and  at  the  same  time  save  the 
sinner.  The  first  stanza  gives  an  idea  of  the 
thought:. 

Here  behold  the  tent  of  meeting, 

In  the  blood  a  peace  with  heaven, 
Refuge  from  the  blood-avengers, 

For  the  sick  a  Healer  given. 
Here  the  sinner  nestles  safely 

At  the  very  Throne  divine. 
And  Heaven's  righteous  law,  all  holy, 

Still  on  him  shall  smile  and  shine. 

"HOW  SWEET  THE  COVENANT  TO  REMEMBER." 

Bydd  melus  gofio  y  cyfammod. 

This,  entitled  "Mysteries  of  Grace,"  is  also 
from  the  pen  of  Ann  Griffiths.     It  has  the  literal- 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  397 

ness  noticeable  in  much  of  the  Welsh  rehgious 
poetry,  and  there  is  a  note  of  pietism  in  it.  The 
two  last  stanzas  are  these: 

He  Is  the  great  Propitiation 

Who  with  the  thieves  that  anguish  bare; 
He  nerved  the  arms  of  His  tormentors 

To  drive  the  nails  that  fixed  Him  there. 
While  He  discharged  the  sinner's  ransom, 

And  made  the  Law  in  honor  be, 
Righteousness  shone  undimmed,  resplendent. 

And  me  the  Covenant  set  free. 

My  soul,  behold  Him  laid  so  lowly. 

Of  peace  the  Fount,  of  Kings  the  Head, 
The  vast  creation  in  Him  moving 

And  He  low-lying  with  the  dead! 
The  Life  and  portion  of  lost  sinners. 

The  marvel  of  heaven's  seraphim. 
To  sea  and  land  the  God  Incarnate 

The  choir  of  heaven  cries,  **Unto  Him  I" 

Ann  Griffiths*  earliest  hymn  will  be  called  her 
sweetest.  Fortunately,  too,  it  is  more  poetically 
translated.  It  was  before  the  vivid  consciousness 
and  intensity  of  her  religious  experience  had  given 
her  spiritual  writings  a  more  involved  and  mystical 
expression. 

My  soul,  behold  the  fitness 

Of  this  great  Son  of  God, 
Trust  Him  for  life  eternal 

And  cast  on  Him  thy  load, 
A  man — touched  with  the  pity 

Of  every  human  woe, 


39^  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

A  God — to  claim  the  kingdom 
And  vanquish  every  foe. 

This  stanza,  the  last  of  her  Httle  poem  on  the 
''Eternal  Fitness  of  Jesus,"  came  to  her  when, 
returning  from  an  exciting  service,  filled  with 
thoughts  of  her  unw^orthiness  and  of  the  glorious 
beauty  of  her  Saviour,  she  had  turned  down  a 
sheltered  lane  to  pray  alone.  There  on  her  knees 
in  communion  with  God  her  soul  felt  the  spirit  of 
the  sacred  song.  By  the  time  she  reached  home 
she  had  formed  it  into  words. 

The  first  and  second  stanzas,  written  later,  are 
these : 

Great  Author  of  salvation 

And  providence  for  man, 
Thou  rulest  earth  and  heaven 
With  Thy  far-reaching  plan. 
Today  or  on  the  morrow, 

Whatever  woe  betide, 
Grant  us  Thy  strong  assistance. 
Within  Thy  hand  to  hide. 

What  though  the  winds  be  angry, 

What  though  the  waves  be  high 
While  wisdom  is  the  Ruler, 

The  Lord  of  earth  and  sky  ? 
What  though  the  flood  of  evil 

Rise  stormily  and  dark  ? 
No  soul  can  sink  within  it; 

God  is  Himself  the  ark. 

Mrs.  Ann  Griffiths,  of  Dolwar  Fechan,  Mont- 
gomery^shire,  was  born  in  1776,  and  died  in  1805. 
*'She  remains,"  says  Dr.  Parr)%  her  fellow-countrj'- 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  399 

man,  "a  romantic  figure  in  the  religious  history  of 
Wales.  Her  hymns  leave  upon  the  reader  an  un- 
definable  impression  both  of  sublimity  and  mysti- 
cism. Her  brief  life-history  is  most  worthy  of  study 
both  from  a  literary  and  a  religious  point  of 
view.'* 

A  suggestive  chapter  of  her  short  earthly  career 
is  compressed  in  a  sentence  by  the  author  of 
"Sweet  Singers  of  Wales:" 

"She  had  a  Christian  life  of  eight  years  and  a 
married  life  of  ten  months." 

She  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine.  In  1904, 
near  the  centennial  of  her  death,  amid  the  echoes  of 
her  own  hymns,  and  the  rising  waves  of  the  great 
Refreshing  over  her  native  land,  the  people  of 
Dolwar  Fechan  dedicated  the  new  "Ann  Griffiths 
Memorial  Chapel"  to  her  name  and  to  the  glory 
of  God. 

Although  the  Welsh  were  not  slow  to  adopt  the 
revival  tones  of  other  lands,  it  was  the  native,  and 
what  might  be  called  the  national,  lyrics  of  that 
emotional  race  that  were  sung  with  the  richest 
unction  and  hwyl  (as  the  Cymric  word  is)  during 
the  recent  reformation,  and  that  evinced  the  strong- 
est hold  on  the  common  heart.  Needless  to  say 
that  with  them  was  the  world-famous  song  of 
William  Williams, — 

Guide  me,  O  Thou  Great  Jehovah; 

Arglwydd  ar  warn  truyW  anialoch; 

— and  that  of  Dr.  Heber  Evans, — 


400         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Keep  me  very  near  to  Jesus, 

Though  beneath  His  Cross  it  be, 

In  this  world  of  evil-doing 

'Tis  the  Cross  that  cleanseth  me; 

— and  also  that  native  hymn  of  expectation,  high 
and  sweet,  whose  writer  we  have  been  unable  to 
identify — 

The  glory  Is  coming!    God  said  it  on  high, 
When  light  in  the  evening  will  break  from  the  sky; 
The  North  and  South  and  the  East  and  the  West, 
With  joy  of  salvation  and  peace  will  be  bless'd. 

****** 

O  summer  of  holiness,  hasten  along! 
The  purpose  of  glory  is  constant  and  strong; 
The  winter  will  vanish,  the  clouds  pass  away; 
O  South  wind  of  Heaven,  breath  softly  today! 

Of  the  almost  countless  hymns  that  voiced  the 
spirit  of  the  great  revival,  the  nine  following  are 
selected  because  they  are  representative,  and  all 
favorites — and  because  there  is  no  room  for  a 
larger  number.  The  first  line  of  each  is  given  in 
the  original  Welsh: 

"DWY  ADEN  COLOMEN  PE  CAWN." 


O  had  I  the  wings  of  a  dove 

How  soon  would  I  wander  away 
To  gaze  from  Mount  Nebo  I'd  love 

On  realms  that  are  fairer  than  day. 
My  vision,  not  clouded  nor  dim. 

Beyond  the  dark  river  should  run; 
I'd  sing,  with  my  thoughts  upon  Him, 

The  sinless,  the  crucified  one. 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  4OI 

This  is  another  of  Thomas  Williams'  hymns. 
One  of  the  tunes  suitable  to  its  feeling  and  its 
measure  was  "  Edom/'  by  Thomas  Evans.  It  was 
much  sung  in  1859,  as  well  as  in  1904. 

"CAELBQD  YN  FORSEC  DAN  YR  IAN." 

Early  to  bear  the  yoke  excels 
By  far  the  joy  in  sin  that  dwells; 
The  paths  of  wisdom  still  are  found 
In  peace  and  solace  to  abound. 

The  young  who  serve  Him  here  below 
The  wrath  to  come  shall  never  know; 
Of  such  in  heaven  are  pearls  that  shine 
Unnumbered  in  the  crown  divine. 

Written  for  children  and  youth  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Jones,  of  Denbigh,  born  1756;  died  1820, — a 
Calvinistic  Methodist  preacher,  author  of  a  biog- 
raphy of  Thomas  Charles  of  Bala,  and  various 
theological  works. 

"DYMA  GARIAD  PEL  Y  MOROEDD, 


TOSTURIASTHAN  PEL  Y  LLI." 

Love  unfathomed  as  the  ocean 

Mercies  boundless  as  the  wave! 
Lo  the  King  of  Life,  the  guiltless, 

Dies  my  guilty  soul  to  save; 
Who  can  choose  but  think  upon  it. 

Who  can  choose  but  praise  and  sing  ? 
Here  is  love,  while  heaven  endureth, 

Nought  can  to  oblivion  bring. 


402  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

This  is  called  "The  great  Welsh  love-song." 
It  was  written  by  Rev.  William  Rees,  D.  D., 
eminent  as  a  preacher,  poet,  politician  and  essayist. 
One  of  the  greatest  names  of  nineteenth  century 
Wales.     He  died  in  1883. 

The  tune,  "Cwynfan  Prydian,"  sung  to  this 
hymn  is  one  of  the  old  Welsh  minors  that  would 
sound  almost  weird  to  our  ears,  but  Welsh  voices 
can  sing  with  strange  sweetness  the  Saviour's  pas- 
sion on  which  Christian  hearts  of  that  nation  love  so 
well  to  dwell,  and  the  shadow  of  it,  with  His  love 
shining  through,  creates  the  paradox  of  a  joyful 
lament  in  many  of  their  chorals.  We  cannot  imi- 
tate it. 

"RHYFEDDODAU  DYDD  YR  ADGYFODIDD. " 

Unnumbered  are  the  marvels 

The  Last  Great  Day  shall  see, 
With  earth's  poor  storm-tossed  children 

From  tribulation  free, 
All  in  their  shining  raiment 

Transfigured,  bright  and  brave, 
Like  to  their  Lord  ascending 

In  triumph  from  the  grave. 

The  author  of  this  Easter  hymn  is  unknown. 

The  most  popular  Welsh  hymns  would  be 
named  variously  by  different  witnesses  according 
to  the  breadth  and  length  of  their  observation. 
Two  of  them,  as  a  Wrexham  music  publisher 
testifies,  are  certainly  the  following;  "Heaven  and 
Home,"  and  "Lo,  a  Saviour  for  the  Fallen."    The 


I 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  4O3 

first  of  these  was  sung  in  the   late   revival  with 
**  stormy  rapture." 

**0  FRYNAU  CAERSALEM  CEIR  GIVELED." 

The  heights  of  fair  Salem  ascended, 

Each  wilderness  path  we  shall  see; 
Now  thoughts  of  each  difficult  journey 

A  sweet  meditation  shall  be. 
On  death,  on  the  grave  and  its  terrors 

And  storms  we  shall  gaze  from  above 
And  freed  from  all  cares  we  shall  revel  ( ?) 

In  transports  of  heavenly  love. 

According  to  the  mood  of  the  meeting  this  was 
pitched  in  three  sharps  to  Evelyn  Evans'  tune  of 
**Eirinwg''  or  with  equal  Welsh  enthusiasm  in 
the  C  minor  of  old  "Darby." 

The  author  of  the  hymn  was  the  Rev.  David 
Charles,  of  Carmarthen,  born  1762;  died  1834. 
He  was  a  heavenly-minded  man  who  loved  to 
dwell  on  the  divine  and  eternal  wonders  of  re- 
demption. A  volume  of  his  sermons  was  spoken 
of  as  "Apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver,"  and 
the  beautiful  piety  of  all  his  writings  made  them 
strings  of  pearls.  He  understood  English  as  well 
as  Welsh,  and  enjoyed  the  hymns  not  only  of 
William  and  Thomas  Williams  but  of  Watts, 
Wesley,  Cowper,  and  Newton*. 

*The  following  verses  were  written  by  him  in  English: 
Spirit  of  grace  and  love  divine, 
Help  me  to  sing  that  Christ  is  mine; 
And  while  the  theme  my  tongue  employs 
Fill  Thou  my  soul  with  living  joys. 


404  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"DYMA  GEIDWAD  I  R  COLLEDIG." 

Lo!  a  Saviour  for  the  fallen, 

Healer  of  the  sick  and  sore, 
One  whose  love  the  vilest  sinners 

Seeks  to  pardon  and  restore. 
Praise  Him,  praise  Him 

Who  has  loved  us  evermore! 

The  little  now  known  of  the  Rev.  Morgan 
Rhys,  author  of  this  hymn,  is  that  he  was  a  school- 
master and  preacher,  and  that  he  was  a  contempo- 
rary and  friend  of  William  Williams.  Several  of 
his  hymns  remain  in  use  of  which  the  oftenest  sung 
is  one  cited  above,  and  "0  agor  fy  llygaid  i  weled:^* 

I  open  my  eyes  to  this  vision. 

The  deeps  of  Thy  purpose  and  word; 
The  law  of  Thy  lips  is  to  thousands 

Of  gold  and  of  silver  preferred; 
When  earth  is  consumed,  and  its  treasure, 

God's  words  will  unchanging  remain, 
And  to  know  the  God-man  is  my  Saviour 

Is  life  everlasting  to  gain. 

"  Lo !  a  Saviour  for  the  Fallen  "  finds  an  appropri- 
ate voice  in  W.  M.  Robert's  tune  of  "Nesta,"  and 
also,  like  many  others  of  the  same  measure,  in  the 
much-used  minors  "Llanietyn,"  "Catharine,*'  and 
"  Bryn  Calfaria." 

Jesus  is  mine — surpassing  thought! 
Well  may  I  set  the  world  at  nought; 
Jesus  is  mine,  O  can  it  be 
That  Jesus  lived  and  died  for  me? 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  405 

"O  SANCTEIDDIA  F'ENAID  ARGLWYDD." 


Sanctify,  O  Lord    my  spirit, 
Every  power  and  passion  sway, 

Bid  Thy  holy  law  within  me 
Dwell,  my  wearied  soul  to  stay; 

Let  me  never 
Rove  beyond  Thy  narrow  way. 


This  one  more  hymn  of  William  Williams  is 
from  his"  Song  of  a  Cleansed  Heart"  and  is 
amply  provided  with  tunes,  popular  ones  like 
"Tyddyn  Llwyn,"  "Y  Delyn  Aur,"  or  "Capel-Y- 
Ddol"  lending  their  deep  minors  to  its  lines  with  a 
thrilling  effect  realized,  perhaps,  only  in  the  land 
of  Taliessin  and  the  Druids. 

The  singular  history  and  inspiring  cause  of  one 
old  Welsh  hymn  which  after  various  mutilations 
and  vicissitudes  survives  as  the  key-note  of  a 
valued  song  of  trust,  seems  to  illustrate  the  Pro- 
vidence that  will  never  let  a  good  thing  be  lost.  It 
is  related  of  the  Rev.  David  Williams,  of  Llandllo, 
an  obscure  but  not  entirely  forgotten  preacher, 
that  he  had  a  termagant  wife,  and  one  stormy 
night,  when  her  bickerings  became  intolerable,  he 
went  out  In  the  rain  and  standing  by  the  river  com- 
posed in  his  mind  these  lines  of  tender  faith: 

In  the  waves  and  mighty  waters 

No  one  will  support  my  head 
But  my  Saviour,  my  Beloved, 

Who  was  stricken  in  my  stead. 
In  the  cold  and  mortal  river 


406  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

He  would  hold  my  head  above; 
I  shall  through  the  waves  go  singing 
For  one  look  of  Him  I  love. 

Apparently  the  sentiment  and  substantially  the 
expression  of  this  humble  hymn  became  the  burden 
of  more  than  one  Christian  lay.  Altered  and 
blended  with  a  modern  gospel  hymn,  it  was  sung 
at  the  crowded  meetings  of  1904  to  Robert  Lowry's 
air  of  "Jesus  Only,"  and  often  rendered  very 
impressively  as  a  solo  by  a  sweet  female  voice. 

In  the  deep  and  mighty  waters 

There  is  none  to  hold  my  head 
But  my  loving  Bridegroom,  Jesus, 

Who  upon  the  cross  hath  bled. 

If  I've  Jesus,  Jesus  only 

Then  my  sky  will  have  a  gem 
He's  the  Sun  of  brightest  splendor, 

He's  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

He's  the  Friend  in  Death's  dark  river. 

He  will  lift  me  o'er  the  waves, 
I  will  sing  in  the  deep  waters 

If  I  only  see  His  face. 
If  I've  Jesus,  Jesus  only,  etc. 

A  few  of  the  revival  tunes  have  living  authors 
and  are  of  recent  date;  and  the  minor  harmony  of 
"Ebenezer"  (marked  "Ton  Y  Botel"),  which  was 
copied  in  this  country  by  the  New  York  Examiner, 
with  its  hymn,  is  apparently  a  cotemporary  piece. 
It  was  first  sung  at  Bethany  Chapel,  Cardiff,  Jan. 
8,  1905,  the  hymn  bearing  the  name  of  Rev.  W. 
E.  Winks. 


HYMNS    OF    WALES.  4O7 

Send  Thy  Spirit,  I  beseech  Thee, 

Gracious  Lord,  send  while  I  pray; 
Send  the  Comforter  to  teach  me, 

Guide  me,  help  me  in  Thy  way. 
Sinful,  wretched,  I  have  wandered 

Far  from  Thee  in  darkest  night, 
Precious  time  and  talents  squandered, 

Lead,  O  lead  me  into  light. 

Thou  hast  heard  me;   light  is  breaking — 

Light  I  never  saw  before. 
Now,  my  soul  with  joy  awaking. 

Gropes  in  fearful  gloom  no  more: 
O  the  bliss!  my  soul,  declare  it; 

Say  what  God  hath  done  for  thee; 
Tell  it  out,  let  others  share  it — 

Christ's  salvation,  full  and  free. 

One  cannot  help  noticing  the  fondness  of  the 
Welsh  for  the  7-6,  '^-J,  and  8-7-4  metres.  These 
are  favorites  since  they  lend  themselves  so  natur- 
ally to  the  rhythms  of  their  national  music — 
though  their  newest  hymnals  by  no  means  exclude 
exotic  lyrics  and  melodies.  Even  "O  mother  dear, 
Jerusalem,"  one  of  the  echoes  of  Bernard  of 
Cluny's  great  hymn,  is  cherished  in  their  tongue 
O,  Frynian  Caerselem)  among  the  favorites  of 
song.  Old  "Truro"  by  Dr.  Burney  appears 
among  their  tunes.  Mason's  "Ernan,"  "Lowell" 
and  "Shawmut,"  I.  B.  Woodbury's  "Nearer 
Home"  (to  Phebe  Gary's  hymn),  and  even  George 
Hews'  gently-flowing  "  Holley ."  Most  of  these  tunes 
retain  their  own  hymns,  but  in  Welsh  translation. 
To  find  our  Daniel  Read's  old  "Windham"  there 


408  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

is  no  surprise.  The  minor  mode — a  song-instinct 
of  the  Welsh,  if  not  of  the  whole  Celtic  family  of 
nations,  is  their  rural  inheritance.  It  is  in  the 
wind  of  their  mountains  and  the  semitones  of  their 
streams;  and  their  nature  can  make  it  a  gladness 
as  the  Anglo-Saxon  cannot.  So  far  from  being  a 
gloomy  people,  their  capacity  for  joy  in  spiritual 
life  is  phenomenal.  In  psalmody  their  emotions 
mount  on  wings,  and  they  find  ecstacy  in  solemn 
sounds. 

''A  temporary  excitement"  is  the  verdict  of 
skepticism  on  the  Reformation  wave  that  for  a 
twelvemonth  swept  over  Wales  with  its  ringing 
symphonies  of  hymn  and  tune.  But  such  excite- 
ments are  the  May-blossom  seasons  of  God's 
eternal  husbandry.  They  pass  because  human 
vigor  cannot  last  at  flood-tide,  but  in  spiritual 
economy  they  will  always  have  their  place.  "If 
the  blossoms  had  not  come  and  gone  there  would 
be  no  fruit." 


CHAPTER  XII. 


FIELD  HYMNS, 


Hymns  of  the  hortatory  and  persuasive  tone  are 
sufficiently  numerous  to  make  an  "embarrassment 
of  riches"  in  a  compiler's  hands.  Not  a  few  songs 
of  invitation  and  awakening  are  either  quoted  or 
mentioned  in  the  chapteron  "Old  Revival  Hymns/' 
and  many  appear  among  those  in  the  last  chapter, 
(on  the  Hymns  of  Wales;)  but  the  working  songs  of 
Christian  hymnology  deserve  a  special  space  as  such. 

"COME  HITHER,  ALL  YE  WEARY  SOULS," 

Sung  to  "Federal  St.,"  is  one  of  the  older  soul- 
winning  calls  from  the  great  hymn-treasury  of  Dr. 
Watts;  and  another  note  of  the  same  sacred  bard, — 
Life  is  the  time  to  serve  the  Lord, 

— is  always  coupled  with  the  venerable  tune  of 
"Wells."*  Aged  Christians  are  still  remembered 
who  were  wont  to  repeat  or  sing  with  quavering 
voices  the  second  stanza, — 

♦One  of  Israel  Holroyd's  tunes.    He  was  born  in  England,  about  1690,  and 
was  both  a  composer  and  publisher  of  psalmody.    His  chief  collection  is  dated 

1746. 

(409) 


410  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

The  living  know  that  they  must  die, 

But  all  the  dead  forgotten  lie; 
Their  memory  and  their  sense  are  gone. 

Alike  unknowing  and  unknown. 

And  likewise  from  the  fourth  stanza, — 

There  are  no  acts  of  pardon  passed 

In  the  cold  grave  to  which  we  haste. 

"AND  WILL  THE  JUDGE  DESCEND  ?" 

Is  one  of  Doddridge's  monitory  hymns,  once  sung 
to  J.  C.  Woodman's  tune  of  "State  St.,"  with  the 
voice  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  the 
last  verse: 

Ye  sinners,  seek  His  grace 

Whose  wrath  ye  cannot  bear; 
Fly  to  the  shelter  of  His  Cross, 

And  find  Salvation  there. 

Jonathan  Call  Woodman  was  born  in  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  July  12,  18 13,  and  was  a  teacher,  com- 
poser, and  compiler.  Was  organist  of  St.  George's 
Chapel,  in  Flushing,  L.I.,  and  in  1858  published 
The  Musical  Casket,  Died  January,  1894.  He 
wrote  "State  St."  for  William  B.  Bradbury,  in 
August,  1844. 

'^HASTEN  SINNER,  TO  BE  WISE'* 

Is  one  of  the  few  unforgotten  hymns  of  Thomas 
Scott,  every  second  line  repeating  the  solemn 
caution, — 

Stay  not  for  tomorrow's  sun. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  4II 

— and  every  line  enforcing  Its  exhortation  with  a 
new  word.  *'To  be  wise/'  "to  implore/'  "to  re- 
turn/' and  "to  be  blest"  were  natural  cumulatlves 
that  summoned  and  wooed  the  sinner  careless  and 
astray.  It  Is  a  finished  piece  of  work,  but  it  owes  Its 
longevity  less  to  its  structural  form  than  to  Its  spirit. 
For  generations  it  has  been  sung  to  "Pleyel's 
Hymn." 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Scott  (not  Rev.  Thomas  Scott 
the  Commentator)  was  born  in  Norwich,  Eng.,  in 
1705,  and  died  at  Hupton,  in  Norfolk,  1776.  He 
was  a  Dissenting  minister,  pastor  for  twenty-one 
years — until  disabled  by  feeble  health — at  Lowe- 
stoft In  Suffolk.    He  was  the  author  of — 

Angels  roll  the  rock  away. 
"MUST  JESUS  BEAR  THE  CROSS  ALONE  ? " 

This  emotional  and  appealing  hymn  still  holds 
its  own  in  the  hearts  of  millions,  though  probably 
two  hundred  years  old.  It  was  written  by  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Shepherd,  Vicar  of  Tilbrook,  born  In  1665.  Join- 
ing the  Nonconformists  In  1694,  he  settled  first  in 
Castle  Hill,  Nottingham,  and  afterward  in  Dock- 
ing, Essex,  where  he  remained  until  his  death,  Jan- 
uary, 1 739.  He  published  a  selection  of  his  sermons, 
and  Penitential  Cries,  a  book  of  sacred  lyrics,  some 
of  which  still  appear  in  collections. 

The  startling  question  in  the  above  Ime  is  an- 
swered with  emphasis  in  the  third  of  the  stanza, — • 


412  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

No!    There's  a  cross  for  every  one, 
And  there's  a  cross  for  m/?, 

— and  this  is  followed  by  the  song  of  resolve  and 
triumph, — 

The  consecrated  cross  1*11  bear, 

Till  death  shall  set  me  free. 
And  then  go  home  my  crown  to  wear. 

For  there's  a  crown  for  me. 

t    *    :(e     *     %     :4c 

O  precious  cross!  O  glorious  crown! 

O  Resurrection  Day! 
Ye  angels  from  the  stars  flash  down 

And  bear  my  soul  away! 

The  hymn  is  a  personal  New  Testament.  No 
one  who  analyzes  it  and  feels  its  Christian  vitality 
will  wonder  why  it  has  lived  so  long. 

THE   TUNE, 

For  half  a  century  George  N.  Allen,  composer 
of  "Maitland,"  the  music  inseparable  from  the 
hymn,  was  credited  with  the  authorship  of  the 
words  also,  but  his  vocal  aid  to  the  heart-stirring 
poem  earned  him  sufficient  praise.  The  tune  did 
not  meet  the  hymn  till  the  latter  was  so  old  that  the 
real  author  was  mostly  forgotten,  for  Allen  wrote 
the  music  in  1849;  but  if  the  fine  stanzas  needed 
any  renewing  it  was  his  tune  that  made  them  new. 
Since  it  was  published  nobody  has  wanted  another. 

George  Nelson  Allen  was  born  in  Mansfield, 
Mass.,  Sept.  7,  1812,  and  lived  at  Oberlin,  O.    It 


FIELD    HYMNS.  4I3 

was  there  that  he  composed  "Maitland,"  and  com- 
piled the  Social  and  Sabbath  Hymn-book — besides 
songs  for  the  fVestern  Belly  pubHshed  by  OHver 
Ditson  and  Co.     He  died  in  Cincinnati,  Dec.  9, 

1877. 

*^ AWAKE  MY  SOUL,  STRETCH  EVERY  NERVE!" 

This  most  popular  of  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns 
is  also  the  richest  one  of  all  in  lyrical  and  spiritual 
life.  It  is  a  stadium  song  that  sounds  the  starting- 
note  for  every  young  Christian  at  the  outset  of  his 
career,  and  the  slogan  for  every  faint  Christian  on 
the  w^ay. 

A  heavenly  race  demands  thy  zeal, 
And  an  immortal  crown. 

Like  the  "Coronation"  hymn,  it  transports  the 
devout  singer  till  he  feels  only  the  momentum  of 
the  words  and  forgets  whether  it  is  common  or 
hallelujah  metre  that  carries  him  along. 

A  cloud  of  witnesses  around 

Hold  thee  in  full  survey; 
Forget  the  steps  already  trod, 

And  onward  urge  thy  way! 

'Tis  God's  all-animating  voice 

That  calls  thee  from  on  high, 
'Tis  His  own  hand  presents  the  prize 

To  thine  aspiring  eye. 

In  all  persuasive  hymnology  there  is  no  more 
kindling  lyric  that  this.  As  a  field-hymn  it  is 
indispensable. 


414  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

THE    TUNE. 

Whenever  and  by  whomsoever  the  brave  pro- 
cessional known  as  "Christmas''  was  picked  from 
among  the  great  Handel's  Songs  and  mated  with 
Doddridge's  lines,  the  act  gave  both  hymn  and 
tune  new  reason  to  endure,  and  all  posterity 
rejoices  in  the  blend.  Old  "Christmas"  was  orig- 
inally one  of  the  melodies  in  the  great  Composer's 
Opera  of  "Ciroe"  (Cyrus)  1738.  It  was  written 
to  Latin  words  (Non  vt  ptacque),  and  afterwards 
adapted  to  an  English  versification  of  Job  29:15, 
"I  was  eyes  to  the  blind." 

Handel,  himself  became  blind  at  the  age  of  sixty 
eight  (1753). 

"THERE  IS  A  GREEN  HILL  FAR  AWAY." 

Written  in  1848  by  Miss  Cecil  Frances  Hum- 
phreys, an  Irish  lady,  daughter  of  Major  John 
Humphreys  of  Dublin.  She  was  born  in  that  city 
in  1823.  ^^^  hest  known  name  is  Mrs.  Cecil 
Frances  Alexander,  her  husband  being  the  Rt.  Rev. 
William  Alexander,  Bishop  of  Derry.  Among  her 
works  are  Hymns  for  Little  Children,  Narrative 
Hymns,  Hymns  Descriptive  and  Devotional,  and 
Moral  Songs.     Died  1895. 

"There  is  a  green  hill"  is  poetic  license,  but  the 
hymn  is  sweet  and  sympathetic,  and  almost  child- 
like in  its  simplicity. 

There  is  a  green  hill  far  away 
Without  the  city  wall, 


^p     / 

1 

■ 

W     ^1 

4 

!^l 

1  '  ^ 

^^m    « 

fl 

K^  ^  J^  jh  ^  «dfl 

E 

B 

BR#iiE^lpy' '      v^ 

^ijMnl 

^^^^^H 

9 

H 

■ 

Q 

^H^  ^W 

■ 

iJI 

George 
Frederick 

H 

'  ande 

I 
I 

FIELD    HYMNS.  415 

Where  our  dear  Lord  was  crucified 
Who  died  to  save  us  all. 

We  may  not  know,  we  cannot  tell 

What  pains  He  had  to  bear; 
But  we  beheve  it  was  for  us 

He  hung  and  suffered  there. 

THE   TUNES. 

There  is  no  room  here  to  describe  them  all.  Airs 
and  chorals  by  Berthold  Tours,  Pinsuti,  John 
Henry  Cornell,  Richard  Storrs  Willis,  George  C. 
Stebbins  and  Hubert  P.  Main  have  been  adapted 
to  the  words — one  or  two  evidently  composed  for 
them.  It  is  a  hymn  that  attracts  tune-makers — 
literally  so  commonplace  and  yet  so  quiet  and 
tender,  with  such  a  theme  and  such  natural  melody 
of  line — but  most  of  the  scores  indicated  are  choir 
music  rather  than  congregational.  Mr.  Stebbins' 
composition  comes  nearest  to  being  the  favorite,  if 
one  judges  by  the  extent  and  frequency  of  its  use. 
It  can  be  either  partly  or  wholly  choral;  and  the 
third  stanza  makes  the  refrain — 

O  dearly,  dearly  has  He  loved 

And  we  must  love  Him  too, 
And  trust  in  His  redeeming  blood, 

And  try  His  works  to  do. 

"REJOICE  AND  BE  GLAD!" 

This  musical  shout  of  joy,  written  by  Dr.  Hora- 
tius  Bonar,  scarcely  needs  a  new  song  helper,  as  did 


4l6  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Bishop  Heber's  famous  hymn — not  because  it  is 
better  than  Heber*s  but  because  it  was  wedded  at 
once  to  a  tune  worthy  of  it. 

Rejoice  and  be  glad!  for  our  King  is  on  high; 
He  pleadeth  for  us  on  His  throne  in  the  sky. 
Rejoice  and  be  glad!  for  He  cometh  again; 
He  cometh  in  glory,  the  Lamb  that  was  slain 

Hallelujah!  Amen. 

The  hymn  was  composed  in  1874. 
THE   TUNE. 

The  author  of  the  "English  Melody" (as  ascribed 
in  Gospel  Hymns)  is  said  to  have  been  John 
Jenkins  Husband,  born  in  Plymouth,  Eng.,  about 
1760.  He  was  clerk  at  Surrey  Chapel  and  com- 
posed several  anthems.  Came  to  the  United  States 
in  1809.  Settled  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  taught 
music  and  was  clerk  of  St.  Paul's  P.  E.  Church. 
Died  there  in  1825. 

His  tune,  exactly  suited  to  the  hymn,  is  a  true 
Christian  paean.  It  has  few  equals  as  a  rouser  to  a 
sluggish  prayer-meeting — ^whether  sung  to  Bonar's 
words  or  those  of  Rev.  William  Paton  Mackay 
(1866)— 

We  praise  Thee,  O  God,  for  the  Son  of  Thy  love, 
— with  the  refrain  of  similar  spirit  in  both  hymns — 

Hallelujah!  Thine  the  glory,  Hallelujah!  Amen, 
Hallelujah!  Thine  the  glory;  revive  us  again; 


Sound  His  praises!  tell  the  story  of  Him  who  was  slain! 
Sound  His  praises!  tell  with  gladness,  "He  liveth  again.' 


FIELD    HYMNS.  417 

Husband's  tune  is  supposed  to  have  been  written 
very  early  in  the  last  century.  Another  tune  com- 
posed by  him  near  the  same  date  to  the  words — 

"We  are  on  our  journey  home 
To  the  New  Jerusalem," 

— is  equally  musical  and  animating,  and  with  a  vocal 
range  that  brings  out  the  full  strength  of  choir  and 
congregation. 

"COME,  SINNER,  COME." 

A  singular  case  of  the  same  tune  originating  in 
the  brain  of  both  author  and  composer  is  presented 
in  the  history  of  this  hymn  of  Rev.  William  Ells- 
worth Witter,  D.D.,  born  in  La  Grange,  N.Y., 
Dec.  9,  1854.  He  wrote  the  hymn  in  the  autumn  of 
1878,  while  teaching  a  district  school  near  his  home. 
The  first  line — 

While  Jesus  whispers  to  you, 

— came  to  him  during  a  brief  turn  of  outdoor  work 
by  the  roadside  and  presently  grew  to  twenty-four 
lines.  Soon  after,  Prof.  Horatio  Palmer,  knowing 
Witter  to  be  a  verse  writer,  invited  him  to  contrib- 
ute a  hymn  to  a  book  he  had  in  preparation,  and 
this  hymn  was  sent.  Dr.  Palmer  set  it  to  music,  it 
soon  entered  into  several  collections,  and  Mr.  San- 
key  sang  it  in  England  at  the  Moody  meetings. 
Dr.  Witter  gives  this  curious  testimony, 
*' While  I  cannot  sing  myself,  though  very  fond  of 
music,  the  hymn  sang  itself  to  me  by  the  roadside 


4l8  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

in  almost  the  exact  tune  given  to  it  by  Professor  Pal- 
mer/* Which  proves  that  Professor  Palmer  had 
the  feeling  of  the  hymn — and  that  the  maker  of  a 
true  hymn  has  at  least  a  sub-consciousness  of  its 
right  tune,  though  he  may  be  neither  a  musician  nor 
a  poet. 

While  Jesus  whispers  to  you. 

Come,  sinner,  come! 
While  we  are  praying  for  you. 

Come,  sinner,  come! 
Now  is  the  time  to  own  Him, 

Come,  sinner,  come! 
Now  is  the  time  to  know  Him, 
Come,  sinner,  come! 

"ONE  MORE  DAY'S  WORK  FOR  JESUS." 

The  writer  of  this  hymn  was  Miss  Anna  War- 
ner, one  of  the  well-known  "Wetherell  Sisters," 
joint  authors  of  The  Wide  World,  Queechy,  and  a 
numerous  succession  of  healthful  romances  very 
popular  in  the  middle  and  later  years  of  the  last 
century.  Her  own  pen  name  is  **  Amy  Lothrop," 
under  which  she  has  published  many  religious 
poems,  hymns  and  other  varieties  of  literary  work. 
She  was  born  in  1820,  at  Martlaer,  West  Point, 
N.  Y.,  where  she  still  resides. 

One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus, 
One  less  of  life  for  me: 

But  heaven  is  nearer, 

And  Christ  is  dearer 
Than  yesterday  to  me. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  4I9 

His  love  and  light 
Fill  all  my  soul  tonight. 

Refrain: — 

One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus,  (ter) 
One  less  of  life  for  me. 

The  hymn  has  five  stanzas  all  expressing  the 
gentle  fervor  of  an  active  piety  loving  service : 

THE    TUNE. 

was  composed  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Lowry,  and 
first  pubhshed  in  Bright  Jewels. 

THE  GOSPEL  HYMNS. 

These  popular  religious  songs  have  been  criti- 
cised as  "degenerate  psalmody"  but  those  who  so 
style  them  do  not  seem  to  consider  the  need  that 
made  them. 

The  great  majority  of  mankind  can  only  be 
reached  by  missionary  methods,  and  in  these  art 
and  culture  do  not  play  a  conspicuous  part.  The 
multitude  could  be  supplied  with  technical  preach- 
ing and  technical  music  for  their  religious  wants, 
but  they  would  not  rise  to  the  bait,  whereas  nothing 
so  soon  kindles  their  better  emotions  or  so  surely 
appeals  to  their  better  nature  as  even  the  humblest 
sympathetic  hymn  sung  to  a  simple  and  stirring 
tune.  If  the  music  is  unclassical  and  the  hymn 
crude  there  is  no  critical  audience  to  be  offended. 


420        STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

The  artless,  almost  colloquial,  words  "of  a  happily 
rhymed  camp-meeting  lyric  and  the  wood-notes 
wild"  of  a  new  melody  meet  a  situation.  Moral 
and  spiritual  lapse  makes  it  necessary  at  times  for 
religion  to  put  on  again  her  primitive  raiment,  and 
be  "  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness. " 

Between  the  slums  and  the  boulevards  live  the 
masses  that  shape  the  generations,  and  make  the 
state.  They  are  w^age-earners  who  never  hear  the 
great  composers  nor  have  time  to  form  fine  musical 
and  literary^  tastes.  The  spiritual  influences  that 
really  reach  them  are  of  a  very  direct  and  simple 
kind;  and  for  the  good  of  the  church — and  the 
nation — it  is  important  that  at  least  this  elementary 
education  in  the  school  of  Christ  should  be  sup- 
plied them. 

It  is  the  popular  hymn  tunes  that  speed  a  ref- 
ormation. So  say  history  and  experience.  Once  in 
two  hundred  years  a  great  revival  movement  may 
produce  a  Charles  Wesley,  but  the  humbler  sing- 
ers carry  the  divine  fire  that  quickens  religious  life 
in  the  years  between. 

All  this  is  not  saying  that  the  gospel  hymns,  as  a 
whole,  are  or  ever  professed  to  be  suitable  for  the 
stated  service  of  the  sanctuary.  Their  very  style 
and  movement  show  exactly  what  they  were  made 
for — to  win  the  hearing  of  the  multitude,  and  put 
the  music  of  God's  praise  and  Jesus'  love  into  the 
mouths  and  hearts  of  thousands  who  had  been 
strangers  to  both.  They  are  the  modern  lay  songs 
that  go  with  the  modern  lay  sermons.    They  give 


FIELD    HYMNS.  42 1 

voice  to  the  spirit  and  sentiment  of  the  conference, 
prayer  and  inquiry  meetings,  the  Epworth  League 
and  Christian  Endeavor  meetings,  the  temperance 
and  other  reform  meetings,  and  of  the  mass-meet- 
ings in  the  cities  or  the  seaside  camps. 

During  their  evangeHstic  mission  in  England 
and  Scotland  in  1873,  Dwight  L.  Moody  and  Ira 
D.  Sankey  used  the  hymnbook  of  Philip  Phillips, 
a  compilation  entitled  Hallowed  Songs,  some  of  them 
his  own.  To  these  Mr.  Sankey  added  others  of  his 
own  composing  from  time  to  time  which  w^ere  so 
enthusiastically  received  that  he  published  them  in 
a  pamphlet.  This,  with  the  simultaneous  publica- 
tion in  America  of  the  revival  melodies  of  Philip 
P.  Bliss,  was  the  beginning  of  that  series  of  popular 
hymn-and-tune  books,  which  finally  numbered  six 
volumes.  Sankey's  Sacred  Songs  and  Solos  com- 
bined with  Bliss's  Gospel  Songs  were  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Gospel  Hymns. 

Subjectively  their  utterances  are  indicative  of 
ardent  piety  and  unquestioning  faith,  and  on  the 
other  hand  their  direct  and  intimate  appeal  and 
dramatic  address  are  calculated  to  affect  a  throng 
as  if  each  individual  in  it  was  the  person  meant  by 
the  words.  The  refrain  or  chorus  feature  is  notable 
in  nearly  all. 

A  selection  of  between  thirty  and  forty  of  the 
most  characteristic  is  here  given. 


422         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"HALLELUJAH!    TIS  DONE." 

This  is  named  from  its  chorus.  The  song  is  one 
of  the  spontaneous  thanksgivings  in  revival  meet- 
ings that  break  out  at  the  announcement  of  a  new 
conversion. 

*Tis  the  promise  of  God  full  salvation  to  give 
Unto  him  who  on  Jesus  His  Son  will  believe, 
Hallelujah!  'tis  done;  I  believe  on  the  Son; 
I  am  saved  by  the  blood  of  the  crucified  One. 

Though  the  pathway  be  lonely  and  dangerous  too, 
Surely  Jesus  is  able  to  carry  me  through — 
Hallelujah!  etc. 

The  words  and  music  are  both  by  P.  P.  Bliss. 

THE  NINETY  AND  NINE. 

The  hymn  was  written  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ce- 
cilia Clephane  at  Melrose,  Scotland,  early  in  1868. 
She  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  June  10,  1830,  and 
died  of  consumption,  Feb.  19,  1869.  The  little 
poem  was  seen  by  Mr.  Sankey  in  the  Christian  Age, 
and  thinking  it  might  be  useful,  he  cut  it  out.  At  an 
impressive  moment  in  one  of  the  great  meetings  in 
Edinburgh,  Mr.  Moody  said  to  him  in  a  quiet  aside, 
"  Sing  something. "  Precisely  w  hat  was  wanted  for 
the  hour  and  theme,  and  for  the  thought  in  the  gen- 
eral mind, was  in  Mr.  Sankey's  vest  pocket.  But  how 
could  it  be  sung  without  a  tune  }  With  a  silent  prayer 
for  help,  the  musician  took  out  the  slip  containing 
Mrs.  Clephane's  poem,  laid  it  on  the  little  reed- 


FIELD    HYMNS.  423 

organ  and  began  playing,  and  singing.  He  had  to 
read  the  unfamlhar  words  and  at  the  same  time 
make  up  the  music.  The  tune  came — and  grew  as 
he  went  along  till  he  finished  the  first  verse.  He 
remembered  it  w^ell  enough  to  repeat  it  with  the  sec- 
ond, and  after  that  it  was  easy  to  finish  the  hymn. 
A  new  melody  was  born — in  the  presence  of  more 
than  a  thousand  pairs  of  eyes  and  ears.  It  was  a 
feat  of  invention,  of  memory,  of  concentration — 
and  such  was  the  elocution  of  the  trained  soloist 
that  not  a  word  was  lost.  He  had  a  tearful  audience 
at  the  close  to  reward  him;  but  we  can  easily  credit 
his  testimony, 
"It  was  the  most  intense  moment  of  my  life." 
In  a  touching  interview  afterwards,  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  Clephane  told  Mr.  Sankey  the  authoress  had 
not  lived  to  see  her  hymn  in  print  and  to  know  of 
its  blessed  mission. 

The  first  six  lines  give  the  situation  of  the  lost 
sheep  in  the  parable  of  that  name — 

There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay 

In  the  shelter  of  the  fold; 
But  one  was  out  on  the  hills  away, 

Far  off  from  the  gates  of  gold. 
Away  on  the  mountains  wild  and  bare, 
Away  from  the  tender  Shepherd's  care. 

And,  after  describing  the  Shepherd's  arduous 
search,  the  joy  at  his  return  is  sketched  and  spirit- 
ualized in  the  concluding  stanza — 

But  all  through  the  mountains,  thunder-riven, 
And  up  from  the  rocky  steep. 


424         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

There  arose  a  cry  to  the  gate  of  heaven, 

* 'Rejoice!  I  have  found  my  sheep." 
And  the  angels  echoed  around  the  Throne, 
**RejoiceI  for  the  Lord  brings  back  His  own." 

"HOLD  THE  FORT!" 

This  is  named  also  from  its  chorus.  The  historic 
foundation  of  the  hymn  was  the  flag-signal  waved 
to  Gen.  G.  M.  Corse  by  Gen.  Sherman's  order  from 
Kenesaw  Mountain  to  Altoona  during  the  "March 
through  Georgia,"  in  October,  1863.  The  flag  is 
still  in  the  possession  of  A.  D.  Frankenberry,  one  of 
the  Federal  Signal-Corps  whose  message  to  the 
besieged  General  said,  "Hold  the  fort!  We  are 
coming!"  A  visit  to  the  scene  of  the  incident  in- 
spired P.  P.  Bliss  to  write  both  the  words  and  the 
music. 

Ho!  my  comrades,  see  the  signal 

Waving  in  the  sky! 
Reinforcements  now  appearing. 
Victory  is  nigh. 
"Hold  the  fort,  for  I  am  coming!" 
Jesus  signals  still; 
Wave  the  answer  back  to  heaven, 
"By  Thy  grace  we  will!" 

The  popularity  of  the  song  (it  has  been  trans- 
lated into  several  languages),  made  it  the  author's 
chief  memento  in  many  localities.  On  his  monu- 
ment in  Rome,  Pennsylvania,  is  inscribed  "P.  P. 
Bliss— author  of  *Hold  the  Fort.'" 


FIELD    HYMNS.  425 

"RESCUE  THE  PERISHING." 

Few  hymns,  ancient  or  modern,  have  been  more 
useful,  or  more  variously  used,  than  this  little  ser- 
mon in  song  from  Luke  14:23,  by  the  blind  poet, 
Fanny  J.  Crosby,  (Mrs.  Van  Alstyne).  It  is  sung 
not  only  in  the  church  prayer-meetings  with  its 
spiritual  meaning  and  application,  but  in  Salvation 
Army  camps  and  marches,  in  mission-school 
devotions,  in  social  settlement  services,  in  King's 
Daughters  and  Sons  of  Temperance  Meetings,  and 
in  the  rallies  of  every  reform  organization  that 
seeks  the  lost  and  fallen. 

Rescue  the  perishing,  care  for  the  dying, 

Snatch  them  in  pity  from  sin  and  the  grave; 

Weep  o'er  the  erring  ones,  hft  up  the  fallen, 
Tell  them  of  Jesus,  the  Mighty  to  Save. 

Down  in  the  human  heart  crushed  by  the  Tempter, 

Feelings  lie  buried  that  grace  can  restore. 
Touched  by  a  loving  heart,  wakened  by  kindness, 
Chords  that  were  broken  will  vibrate  once  more. 

The  tune  is  by  W.  H.  Doane,  Mus.  D., composed 
in  1870. 

"WHAT  A  FRIEND  WE  HAVE  IN  JESUS." 

The  author  was  a  pious  gentleman  of  DubHn, 
Ireland,  who  came  to  Canada  when  he  was  twenty- 
five.  His  name  was  Joseph  Scriven,  born  in  Dub- 
lin, 1820,  and  graduated  at  Trinity  College.  The 
accidental  death  by  drowning  of  his  intended  bride 


426         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

on  the  eve  of  their  wedding  day,  led  him  to  con- 
secrate his  Hfe  and  fortune  to  the  service  of  Christ. 
He  died  in  Canada,  Oct.  10,  1886,  (Sankey's  Story 
of  the  Gospel  Hymns,  pp.  245-6.) 

THE   TUNE. 

The  music  was  composed  by  Charles  Crozat 
Converse,  LL.D.,  musician,  lawyer,  and  writer. 
He  was  born  in  Warren,  Mass.,  1832;  a  descend- 
ant of  Edward  Converse,  the  friend  of  Gov.  Win- 
throp  and  founder  of  Woburn,  Mass.  He  pursued 
musical  and  other  studies  in  Leipsic  and  Berlin. 
His  compositions  are  numerous  including  concert 
overtures,  symphonies  and  many  sacred  and  secular 
pieces.  Residence  at  Highwood,  Bergen  Co.,  N.  J. 
The  hymn  is  one  of  the  most  helpful  of  the 
Gospel  Collections,  and  the  words  and  music  have 
strengthened  many  a  weak  and  failing  soul  to  "try 
again." 

Have  we  trials  and  temptations  ? 

Is  there  trouble  anywhere  f 
We  should  never  be  discouraged: 
Take  it  to  the  Lord  in  prayer. 

"I  HEAR  THE  SAVIOUR  SAY." 


This  is  classed  with  the  Gospel  Hymns,  but  it 
was  a  much-used  and  much-loved  revival  hymn — 
especially  in  the  Methodist  churches — several  years 
before  Mr.  Moody's  great  evangelical  movement. 
It  was  written  by  Mrs.  Elvina  M.  Hall  (since  Mrs. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  427 

Myers)  who  was  born  in  Alexandria,  Va.,  in  18 18. 
She  composed  it  in  the  spring  of  1865,  while  sitting 
in  the  choir  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  Baltimore,  and 
the  first  draft  was  pencilled  on  a  fly-leaf  of  a  singing 
book,  The  Mew  Lute  of  Z ion. 

I  hear  the  Saviour  say, 

Thy  strength  indeed  is  small; 
Child  of  weakness,  watch  and  pray, 

Find  in  me  thine  all  in  all. 

The  music  of  the  chorus  helped  to  fix  its  words 
in  the  common  mind,  and  some  idea  of  the  Atone- 
ment acceptable,  apparently,  to  both  Arminians 
and  Calvinists;  for  Sunday-school  children  in  the 
families  of  both,  hummed  the  tune  or  sang  the 
refrain  when  alone — 

Jesus  paid  it  all, 
All  to  Him  I  owe, 
Sin  had  left  a  crimson  stain; 
He  washed  it  white  as  snow. 

THE   TUNE. 

John  Thomas  Grape,  who  wrote  the  music,  was 
born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  May  6,  1833.  His  modest 
estimate  of  his  work  appears  in  his  remark  that  he 
*' dabbled''  in  music  for  his  own  amusement.  Few 
composers  have  amused  themselves  with  better 
results. 

"TELL  ME  THE  OLD,  OLD  STORY." 
Miss  Kate  Hankey,  born  about  1846,  the  daugh- 


428  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

ter  of  an  English  banker,  is  the  author  of  this  very 
devout  and  tender  Christian  poem,  written  appar- 
ently in  the  eighteen-sixties.  At  least  it  is  said  that 
her  little  volume,  Heart  to  Heart,  was  published  in 
1865  or  1866,  and  this  volume  contains  "Tell  me 
the  Old,  Old  Story,"  and  its  answer. 

We  have  been  told  that  Miss  Hankey  was  re- 
covering from  a  serious  illness,  and  employed  her 
days  of  convalescence  in  composing  this  song  of 
devotion,  beginning  it  in  January  and  finishing  it  in 
the  following  November. 

The  poem  is  very  long — a  thesaurus  of  evan- 
gelical thoughts,  attitudes,  and  moods  of  faith — 
and  also  a  magazine  of  hymns.  Four  quatrains  of 
It,  or  two  eight-line  stanzas,  are  the  usual  length  of 
a  hymnal  selection,  and  editors  can  pick  and 
choose  anywhere  among  its  expressive  verses. 

Tell  me  the  old,  old  story 

Of  unseen  things  above, 
Of  Jesus  and  His  glory. 

Of  Jesus  and  His  love. 

Tell  me  the  story  simply 

As  to  a  little  child. 
For  I  am  v^eak  and  weary. 

And  helpless  and  defiled. 

****** 

Tell  me  the  story  simply 

That  I  may  take  it  in — 
That  wonderful  Redemption, 

God's  remedy  for  sin. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  429 

THE   TUNE. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Doane  was  present  at  the  Inter- 
national Conference  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  at  Montreal 
in  1867,  and  heard  the  poem  read — with  tears  and 
in  a  broken  voice — by  the  veteran  Major-General 
Russell.  It  impressed  him  so  much  that  he  bor- 
rowed and  copied  it,  and  subsequently  set  it  to 
music  during  a  vacation  in  the  White  Mountains. 

The  poem  of  fifty  stanzas  was  entitled  "The 
Story  Wanted;"  the  sequel  or  answer  to  it,  by 
Miss  Hankey,  was  named  "The  Story  Told." 
This  second  hymn,  of  the  same  metre  but  different 
accent,  was  supplied  with  a  tune  by  William 
Gustavus  Fischer. 

I  love  to  tell  the  story 

Of  unseen  things  above, 
Of  Jesus  and  His  glory, 

Of  Jesus  and  His  love. 

4:     :(:     ^     :):     *     4: 

I  love  to  tell  the  story 

Because  I  know  its  true; 
It  satisfies  my  longings 

As  nothing  else  can  do. 

Chorus. 

I  love  to  tell  the  story; 
'Twill  be  my  theme  in  glory; 
To  tell  the  old,  old  story 
Of  Jesus  and  his  love. 

William  Gustavus  Fischer  was  born  in  Baltimore, 
Md.,  Oct.  14,  1835.     ^^  ^^s  ^  piano-dealer  in  the 


430  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

firm  (formerly)  of  Gould  and  Fischer.  His  melody 
to  the  above  hymn  was  written  in  1869,' and  was 
harmonized  the  next  year  by  Hubert  P.  Main. 

THE  PRODIGAL  CHILD. 

This  is  not  only  an  impressive  hymn  as  sung  in 
sympathetic  music,  but  a  touching  poem. 

Come  home!  come  home! 
You  are  weary  at  heart, 
For  the  way  has  been  dark 
And  so  lonely  and  wild — 
O  prodigal  child, 
Come  home! 

Come  home!  Come  home! 

For  we  watch  and  we  wait, 
And  we  stand  at  the  gate 

While  the  shadows  are  piled; 
O  prodigal  child, 
Come  home! 

The  author  is  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  H.  Gates,  known 
to  the  English  speaking  world  by  her  famous  poem, 
*'Your  Mission.'' 

THE   TUNE 

To  "The  Prodigal  Child"  was  composed  by  Dr. 
Doane  in  1869  and  no  hymn  ever  had  a  fitter  sing- 
ing ally.  All  a  mother's  yearning  is  in  the  refrain 
and  cadence. 

Come  home!  Oh,  come  home! 


FIELD    HYMNS.  43I 

"LET  THE  LOWER  LIGHTS  BE  BURNING!" 

An  illustration,  recited  in  Mr.  Moody's  graphic 
fashion  in  one  of  his  discourses,  suggested  this 
hymn  to  P.  P.  Bliss. 

"A  stormy  night  on  Lake  Erie,  and  the  sky  pitch 
dark." 

*  Pilot,  are  you  sure  this  is  Cleveland  ?  There's 
only  one  light.' 

*  Quite  sure,  Cap'n.' 
'Where  are  the  lower  lights  ?' 
*Gone  out,  sir.' 

*Can  you  run  in  .?' 

*  Weve  got  to,  Cap'n — or  die.' 

"The  brave  old  pilot  did  his  best,  but,  alas,  he 
missed  the  channel.  The  boat  was  wrecked,  with 
a  loss  of  many  lives.  The  lower  lights  had  gone 
out. 

"  Brethren,  the  Master  will  take  care  of  the  great 
Lighthouse.  It  is  our  work  to  keep  the  lower  lights 
burning!" 

Brightly  beams  our  Father's  mercy 

From  His  Hghthouse  evermore; 
But  to  us  He  gives  the  keeping 
Of  the  lights  along  the  shore. 

Chorus. 

Let  the  lower  lights  be  burning! 

Send  a  gleam  across  the  wave; 
Some  poor  fainting,  struggling  seaman 

You  may  rescue,  you  may  save. 

Both  words  and  music — composed  in  1871 — 
are  by  Mr.  Bliss.     There  are  wakening  chords  in 


432  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

the  tune — and  especially  the  chorus — when  the 
counterpoint  is  well  vocalized;  and  the  effect  is 
more  pronounced  the  greater  the  symphony  of 
voices.  Congregations  find  a  zest  in  every  note. 
**Hold  the  Fort"  can  be  sung  in  the  street.  "Let 
the  Lower  Lights  be  Burning'*  is  at  home  between 
echoing  walls. 

The  use  of  the  song  in  "  Bethel"  meetings  classes 
it  with  sailors'  hymns. 

"SWEET  HOUR  OF  PRAYER." 


Included  with  the  Gospel  Hymns,  but  of  older 
date.  Rev.  William  W.  Walford,  a  blind  English 
minister,  was  the  author,  and  it  was  probably 
written  about  the  year  1842.  It  was  recited  to 
Rev.  Thomas  Salmon,  Congregational  pastor  at 
Coleshill,  Eng.,  who  took  it  down  and  brought  it 
to  New  York,  where  it  was  published  in  the  New 
York  Observer. 

Little  is  known  of  Mr.  Walford  save  that  in  his 
blindness,  besides  preaching  occasionally,  he 
employed  his  mechanical  skill  in  making  small 
useful  articles  of  bone  and  ivory. 

The  tune  was  composed  by  W.  B,  Bradbury  in 
1859,  and  first  appeared  with  the  hymn  in  Cottage 
Melodies. 

Sweet  hour  of  prayer,  sweet  hour  of  prayer 
That  calls  me  from  a  world  of  care, 
And  bids  me  at  my  Father's  throne 
Make  all  my  wants  and  wishes  known. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  433 

In  seasons  of  distress  and  grief 
My  soul  has  often  found  relief, 
And  oft  escaped  the  tempter's  snare 
By  thy  return,  sweet  hour  of  prayer. 

"O  BLISS  OF  THE  PURIFIED!   BLISS  OF  THE  FREE!" 

Rev.  Francis  Bottome,  D.D.,  born  in  Belper, 
Derbyshire,  Eng.,  May  26,  1823,  removed  to  the 
United  States  in  1850,  and  entered  the  Methodist 
ministry.  A  man  of  sterling  character  and  ex- 
emplary piety.  He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity  at  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  Pa. 
Was  assistant  compiler  of  several  singing  books, 
and  wrote  original  hymns.  The  above,  entitled  "  O 
sing  of  His  mighty  love"v^as  composed  by  him  in 
1869.     The   last  stanza   reads, — 

O  Jesus  the  Crucified!  Thee  will  I  sing, 

My  blessed  Redeemer,  my  God  and  my  King! 

My  soul,  filled  with  rapture  shall  shout  o'er  the  grave 

And  triumph  in  death  in  the  Mighty  to  save. 

Chorus. 

O  sing  of  His  mighty  love         (ter) 
Mighty  to  save! 

Dr.  Bottome  returned  to  England,  and  died  at 
Tavistock  June  29,  1894. 

THE   TUNE. 

Bradbury's  "Songs  of  the  Beautiful"  (in  Fresh 
Laurels).    The  hymn  was  set  to  this  chorus  in  1871. 


434         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"WHAT  SHALL  THE  HARVEST  BE?" 

Very  popular  in  England.  Mr.  Sankey  in  his 
Story  of  the  Gospel  Hymns  relates  at  length  the 
experience  of  Rev.  W.  O.  Lattimore,  pastor  of  a 
large  church  in  Evanston,  111.,  who  was  saved  to 
Christian  manhood  and  usefulness  by  this  hymn. 
It  has  suffered  some  alterations,  but  its  original 
composition  was  Mrs.  Emily  Oakey's  work.  The 
Parables  of  the  Sower  and  of  the  Tares  may  have 
been  in  her  mind  when  she  wrote  the  lines  in  1850, 
but  more  probably  it  was  the  text  in  Gal.  6:7 — 

Sowing  the  seed  by  the  daylight  fair, 
Sowing  the  seed  by  the  noonday  glare, 
Sowing  the  seed  by  the  fading  light, 
Sowing  the  seed  in  the  solemn  night. 
O,  what  shall  the  harvest  be  f 

Lattimore,  the  man  whose  history  was  so  strange- 
ly linked  with  this  hymn,  entered  the  army  in  1861, 
a  youth  of  eighteen  with  no  vices,  but  when  pro- 
moted to  first  lieutenant  he  learned  to  drink  in  the 
officers'  mess.  The  habit  so  contracted  grew  up- 
on him  till  when  the  war  was  over,  though  he  mar- 
ried and  tried  to  lead  a  sober  life,  he  fell  a  victim 
to  his  appetite,  and  became  a  physical  wreck.  One 
day  in  the  winter  of  1876  he  found  himself  in  a  half- 
drunken  condition,  in  the  gallery  of  Moody's  Taber- 
nacle, Chicago.  Discovering  presently  that  he  had 
made  a  m.istake,  he  rose  to  go  out,  but  Mr.  Sankey's 
voice  chained  him.  He  sat  down  and  heard  the 
whole  of  the  thrilling  hymn  from  beginning  to  end. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  435 

Then  he  stumbled  out  with  the  words  ringing  in 
his  ears. 

Sowing  the  seed  of  a  lingering  pain, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  a  maddened  brain. 
Sowing  the  seed  of  a  tarnished  name, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  Eternal  shame. 
O,  what  shall  the  harvest  be  ? 

In  the  saloon,  where  he  went  to  drown  the  awak- 
enings of  remorse,  those  words  stood  in  blazing 
letters  on  every  bottle  and  glass.  The  voice  of  God 
in  that  terrible  song  of  conviction  forced  him  back 
to  the  Tabernacle,  with  his  drink  untasted.  He 
went  into  the  inquiry  meeting  where  he  found 
friends,  and  was  led  to  Christ.  His  wife  and  child, 
from  whom  he  had  long  been  exiled,  were  sent  for 
and  work  was  found  for  him  to  do.  A  natural  elo- 
quence made  him  an  attractive  and  efficient  helper 
in  the  meetings,  and  he  was  finally  persuaded  to 
study  for  the  ministry.  His  faithful  pastorate  of 
twenty  years  in  Evanston  ended  with  his  death  in 
1899. 

Mrs.  Emily  Sullivan  Oakey  was  an  author  and 
linguist  by  profession,  and  though  in  her  life  of 
nearly  fifty-four  years  she  "never  enjoyed  a  day  of 
good  health,''  she  earned  a  grateful  memory.  Born 
in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  8, 1829,  ^^^  ^^^  educated  at 
the  Albany  Female  Academy,  and  fitted  herself  for 
the  position  of  teacher  of  languages  and  English 
literature  in  the  same  school,  w^hich  she  honored 
by  her  service  while  she  lived.  Her  contributions 
to  the  daily  press  and  to  magazine  literature  were 


436  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

numerous,  but  she  is  best  known  by  her  remarkable 
hymn.  Her  death  occurred  on  the  nth  of  May, 
1883. 

THE   TUNE, 

By  P.  P.  Bliss,  is  one  of  that  composer's  tonal  suc- 
cesses. The  march  of  the  verses  with  their  re- 
current words  is  so  automatic  that  it  would  in- 
evitably suggest  to  him  the  solo  and  its  organ- 
chords;  and  the  chorus  with  its  sustained  soprano 
note  dominating  the  running  concert  adds  the  last 
emphasis  to  the  solemn  repetition.  The  song  with 
its  warning  cry  owes  no  little  of  its  power  to  this 
choral  appendix — 

Gathered  in  time  or  eternity, 
Sure,  ah  sure  will  the  harvest  be. 

"O  THINK  OF  THE  HOME  OVER  THERE." 

A  hymn  of  Rev.  D.  W.  C.  Huntington,  suggested 
by  Ps.  55 :6.    It  was  a  favorite  from  the  first. 

Rev.  DeWitt  Clinton  Huntington  was  bom  at 
Townshend,  Vt.  Apr.,  27,1830.  He  graduated  at 
the  Syracuse  University,  and  received  the  degrees 
of  D.  D.  and  LL.  D.  from  Genesee  College .  Preach- 
er, instructor  and  author — Removed  to  Lincoln, 
Nebraska. 

O  think  of  the  home  over  there. 

By  the  side  of  the  river  of  light. 
Where  the  saints  all  immortal  and  fair 

Are  robed  in  their  garments  of  white. 

Over  there,  (rep) 


FIELD    HYMNS.  437 

O  think  of  the  friends  over  there, 

Who  before  us  the  journey  have  trod, 

Of  the  songs  that  they  breathe  on  the  air. 
In  their  home  in  the  palace  of  God. 

Over  there,  (rep) 

THE   TUNE. 

The  melody  was  composed  by  Tullius  Clinton 
O'Kane,  born  in  Delaware,  O.,  March  lo,  1830,  a 
hymnist  and  musician.  It  is  a  flowing  tune,  with 
sweet  chords,  and  something  of  the  fugue  feature 
in  the  chorus  as  an  accessory.  The  ^^oices  of  a  mul- 
titude in  full  concord  make  a  building  tremble  with 
it. 

*^HEN  JESUS  COMES." 

DoM7n  hfe's  dark  vale  we  wander 

Till  Jesus  comes; 
We  watch  and  wait  and  wonder 

Till  Jesus  comes. 

Both  words  and  music  are  by  Mr.  Bliss.  A 
relative  of  his  family,  J.  S.  Ellsworth,  says  the  song 
was  written  in  Peoria,  Illinois,  in  1872,  and  was 
suggested  by  a  conversation  on  the  second  coming 
of  Christ,  a  subject  very  near  his  heart.  The 
thought  lingered  in  his  mind,  and  as  he  came  down 
from  his  room,  soon  after,  the  verses  and  notes 
came  to  him  simultaneously  on  the  stairs.  Singing 
them  over,  he  seized  pencil  and  paper,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  fixed  hymn  and  tune  in  the  familiar 
harmony  so  well  known. 


43^  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

No  more  heart-pangs  nor  sadness 

When  Jesus  comes; 

All  peace  and  joy  and  gladness 

When  Jesus  comes. 

The  choral  abounds  In  repetition,  and  is  half 
refrain,  but  among  all  Gospel  Hymns  remarkable 
for  their  tone-delivery  this  is  unsurpassed  in  the 
swing  of  its  rhythm. 

All  joy  his  loved  ones  bringing 

When  Jesus  comes. 
All  praise  thro'  heaven  ringing 

When  Jesus  comes. 
All  beauty  bright  and  vernal 

\\Tien  Jesus  comes. 
All  glory  grand,  eternal 
When  Jesus  comes. 

"TO  THE  WORK,  TO  THE  W^ORK." 

One  of  Fanny  Crosby's  most  animating  hymns — 
with  Dr.  W.  H.  Doane's  full  part  harmony  to  re- 
enforce  its  musical  accent.  Mr.  Sankey  says,  "I 
sang  it  for  the  first  time  in  the  home  of  IVIr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  B.  Cornell  at  Long  Branch.  The  servants 
gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  house  while  I  was  sing- 
ing, and  looked  into  the  parlor  where  I  was  seated. 
When  I  was  through  one  of  them  said,  *That  is 
the  finest  hymn  I  have  heard  for  a  long  time.'  I  felt 
that  this  was  a  test  case,  and  if  the  hymn  had  such 
power  over  those  servants  it  would  be  useful  in 
reaching  other  people  as  well;  so  I  published  it  in 
the  Gospel  Hymns  in  1875,  where  it  became  one  of 


FIELD    HYMNS.  439 

the  best  work-songs  for  our  meetings  that  we  had." 
(Story  of  the  Gospel  Hymns.) 

The  hymn,  written  in  1870,  was  first  pubHshed 
in  1871  in  ''Pure  Gold'' — a  book  that  had  a  sale 
of  one  milHon  two  hundred  thousand  copies. 

To  the  work!  to  the  work!  there  is  labor  for  all, 
For  the  Kingdom  of  darkness  and  error  shall  fall, 
And  the  name  of  Jehovah  exalted  shall  be. 
In  the  loud-swelling  chorus,  ''Salvation  is  free!'* 

Chorus. 

Toiling  on,  toiling  on,  toiling  on,  toiling  on!  {rep) 
Let  us  hope  and  trust,  let  us  watch  and  pray, 
And  labor  till  the  Master  comes. 

"O  WHERE  ARE  THE  REAPERS  ?" 


Matt.  13:30  is  the  text  of  this  lyric  from  the  pen  of 
Eben  E.  Rexford. 

Go  out  in  the  by-ways,  and  search  them  all. 
The  wheat  may  be  there  though  the  weeds  are  tall; 
Then  search  in  the  highway,  and  pass  none  by. 
But  gather  them  all  for  the  home  on  high. 

Chorus. 

Where  are  the  reapers  ?  O  who  will  come. 
And  share  in  the  glory  of  the  harvest  home  .? 
O  who  will  help  us  to  garner  in 
The  sheaves  of  good  from  the  fields  of  sin  ? 

THE   TUNE. 

Hymn  and  tune  are  alike.    The  melody  and  har- 
mony by  Dr.  George  F.  Root  have  all  the  eager 


440         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

trip  and  tread  of  so  many  of  the  gospel  hymns,  and 
of  so  much  of  his  music,  and  the  Hnes  respond  at 
every  step.  Any  other  composer  could  not  have 
escaped  the  compulsion  of  the  final  spondees,  and 
much  less  the  author  of  "Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp," 
and  all  the  best  martial  song-tunes  of  the  great  war. 
In  this  case  neither  words  nor  notes  can  say  to  the 
other,  *'We  have  piped  unto  you  and  ye  have  not 
danced,"  but  a  little  caution  will  guard  too  enthu- 
siastic singing  against  falling  into  the  drum- 
rhythm,  and  travestying  a  sacred  piece. 

Eben  Eugene  Rexford  was  born  in  Johnsburg, 
N.  Y.,  July  i6,  1 841,  and  has  been  a  writer  since  he 
was  fourteen  years  old.  He  is  the  author  of  several 
popular  songs,  as  "Silver  Threads  Among  the 
Gold,"  "Only  a  Pansy  Blossom"  etc.,  and  many 
essays  and  treatises  on  flowers,  of  which  he  is  pas- 
sionately fond. 

*'IT  IS  WELL  WITH  MY  SOUL." 

Horatio  Gates  Spafford,  the  writer  of  this  hymn, 
was  a  lawyer,  a  native  of  New  York  state,  born 
Oct.  30,  1828.  While  connected  with  an  institution 
in  Chicago,  as  professor  of  medical  jurisprudence, 
he  lost  a  great  part  of  his  fortune  by  the  great  fire 
in  that  city.  This  disaster  was  followed  by  the  loss 
of  his  children  on  the  steamer,  Ville  de  Havre,  Nov. 
22,  1873.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  devout  Chris- 
tian, for  he  wrote  his  hymn  of  submissive  faith  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  same  year — 


FIELD    HYMNS.  44I 

When  peace  like  a  river  attendeth  my  way, 
When  sorrows  Hke  sea-billows  roll — 
Whatever  my  lot,  Thou  hast  taught  me  to  say, 
"It  is  well,  it  is  well  with  my  soul." 

A  friend  of  SpafFord  who  knew  his  history  read 
this  hymn  while  repining  under  an  inferior  afflic- 
tion of  his  own.  "If  he  can  feel  like  that  after 
suffering  what  he  has  suffered,"  he  said,  *'I  will 
cease  my  complaints.'' 

It  may  not  have  been  the  weight  of  Mr.  Spaf- 
ford's  sorrows  wearing  him  down,  but  one  would 
infer  some  mental  disturbance  in  the  man  seven  or 
eight  years  later.  "In  1881"  [writes  Mr.  Hubert 
P.  Main] "  he  w^ent  to  Jerusalem  underthe  hallucin- 
ation that  he  was  a  second  Messiah — and  died  there 
on  the  seventh  anniversary  of  his  landing  in  Pales- 
tine, Sept.  5,  1888."  The  aberrations  of  an  over- 
wrought mind  are  beckonings  to  God's  compassion. 
When  reason  wanders  He  takes  the  soul  of  His  help- 
less child  into  his  own  keeping — and  "it  is  well." 

The  tune  to  SpafFord's  hymn  is  by  P.  P.  Bliss;  a 
gentle,  gliding  melody  that  suits  the  mood  of  the 
words. 

"WAITING  AND  WATCHING   FOR  ME." 

Written  by  Mrs.  Marianne  Farningham  Hearn, 
born  in  Kent,  Eng.,  Dec.  17,  1834.    The  hymn  was 
first  published  in  the  fall  of  1864  in   the   London 
Church  World.     Its  unrythmical  first  line — 
When  mysterious  whispers  are  floating  about, 

— was  replaced  by  the  one  now  familiar — 


442  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

When  my  final  farewell  to  the  world  I  have  said, 

And  gladly  lain  down  to  my  rest, 
When  softly  the  watchers  shall  say,  "He  is  dead,'* 

And  fold  my  pale  hands  on  my  breast, 
And  when  with  my  glorified  vision  at  last 

The  walls  of  that  City  I  see. 
Will  any  one  there  at  the  Beautiful  Gate 

Be  waiting  and  watching  for  me  ? 

Mrs.  Hearn — a  member  of  the  Baptist  denom- 
ination— has  long  been  the  editor  of  the  (English) 
Sunday  School  Times,  but  her  Hterary  work  has 
been  more  largely  in  connection  with  the  Christian 
World  newspaper  of  which  she  has  been  a  staff- 
member  since  its  foundation. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  long  lines,  not  easily  manageable  for  con- 
gregational singing,  are  wisely  set  by  Mr.  Bliss  to 
duet  music.  There  is  a  weighty  thought  in  the 
hymn  for  every  Christian,  and  experience  has 
shown  that  a  pair  of  good  singers  can  make  it  very 
affecting,  but  the  only  use  of  the  repeat,  by  way  of 
a  chorus,  seems  to  be  to  give  the  miscellaneous 
voices  a  brief  chance  to  sing. 

"HE  WILL  HIDE  ME." 


(Isa.  49:2.) 

Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Servoss,  the  author  of  this 
trustful  hymn,  was  born  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y., 
Aug.  22,  1849.     When  a  very  young  girl  her  ad- 


I 


FIELD    HYMNS.  443 

miration  of  Fann)^  Croshy's  writings,  and  the  great 
and  good  service  they  were  doing  in  the  world, 
inspired  her  with  a  longing  to  resemble  her. 
Though  her  burden  was  as  real,  it  was  not  like  the 
other's,  and  her  opportunities  for  religious  medi- 
tation and  literary  work  were  fewer  than  those  of 
the  elder  lady,  but  the  limited  number  of  hymns 
she  has  written  have  much  of  the  spirit  and  beauty 
of  their  model. 

Providence  decreed  for  her  a  life  of  domestic 
care  and  patient  waiting.  For  eighteen  years  she 
was  the  constant  attendant  of  a  disabled  grand- 
mother, and  long  afterwards  love  and  duty  made 
her  the  home  nurse  during  her  mother's  protracted 
illness  and  the  last  sickness  of  her  father,  until  both 
parents  passed  away. 

From  her  present  home  in  Edeson,  111.,  some 
utterances  of  her  chastened  spirit  have  found  their 
way  to  the  public,  and  been  a  gospel  of  blessing. 
Besides  "  He  Will  Hide  Me,"  other  hymns  of  Miss 
Servoss  are  "Portals  of  Light,"  "He  Careth," 
"Patiently  Enduring,"  and  "Gates  of  Praise,"  the 
last  being  the  best  known. 

When  the  storms  of  Hfe  are  raging. 

Tempests  wild  on  sea  and  land, 
I  will  seek  a  place  of  refuge 

In  the  shadow  of  God's  hand. 

Chorus. 

He  will  hide  me,  He  will  hide  me, 
Where  no  harm  can  e'er  betide  me, 


444  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

He  will  hide  me,  safely  hide  me 
In  the  shadow  of  His  hand. 

****** 

So  while  here  the  cross  I'm  bearing, 

Meeting  storms  and  billows  wild, 
Jesus  for  my  soul  is  caring. 

Naught  can  harm  His  Father's  child. 
He  will  hide  me,  etc. 

THE   TUNE. 

An  animating  choral  in  nine-eight  tempo,  with  a 
swinging  movement  and  fugue  chorus,  is  rather 
florid  for  the  hymn,  but  undeniably  musical.  Mr. 
James  McGranahan  was  the  composer.  He  was 
born  in  Adamsville,  Pa.,  July  4,  1840.  His  edu- 
cation was  acquired  mostly  at  the  public  schools, 
and  both  in  general  knowledge  and  in  musical 
accomplishments  it  may  be  said  of  him  that  he  is 
'*  self-made." 

Music  was  born  in  him,  and  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, with  some  valuable  help  from  men  like 
Bassini,  Webb,  Root  and  Zerrahn,  he  had  studied 
to  so  good  purpose  that  he  taught  music  classes 
himself.  This  talent,  joined  to  the  gift  of  a  very 
sweet  tenor  voice,  made  him  the  natural  successor 
of  the  lamented  Bliss,  and,  with  Major  D.  W. 
Whittle,  he  entered  on  a  career  of  gospel  work, 
making  between  1881  and  1885  two  successful 
tours  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and 
through  the  chief  American  cities. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  445 

Among  his  publications  are  the  Male  Chorus 
Book,  Songs  of  the  Gospel  and  the  Gospel  Male 
Choir. 

Resides  at  Kinsman,  O. 

^•REVIVE  THY  WORK,  O  LORD/* 

(Heb.  3:2.) 

The  supposed  date  of  the  hymn  is  i860;  the 
author,  Albert  Midlane.  He  was  born  at  Newport 
on  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Jan.  23,  1825  a  business 
man,  but,  being  a  Sunday-school  teacher,  he  was 
prompted  to  write  verses  for  children.  The  habit 
grew  upon  him  till  he  became  a  frequent  and 
acceptable  hymn-writer,  both  for  juvenile  and  for 
general  use.  English  collections  have  at  least  three 
hundred  credited  to  him. 

Revive  Thy  work,  O  Lord, 

Thy  mighty  arm  make  bare, 
Speak  with  the  voice  that  wakes  the  dead, 

And  make  Thy  people  hear. 

THE   TUNE. 

Music  and  words  together  make  a  song-litany 
alive  with  all  the  old  psalm-tune  unction  and  the 
new  vigor;  and  both  were  upon  Mr.  McGranahan 
when  he  wrote  the  choral.  It  is  one  of  his  suc- 
cesses. 

Revive  thy  work,  O  Lord, 
Exalt  Thy  precious  name, 


44^  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

And  by  the  Holy  Ghost  our  love 
For  Thee  and  Thine  inflame. 

Refrain. 

Revive  Thy  work,  O  Lord, 

And  give  refreshing  shov^ers; 
The  glory  shall  be  all  Thine  own, 

The  blessing  shall  be  ours. 

* ^WHERE  IS  MY  WANDERING  BOY  TO-NIGHT  ?" 

This  remarkable  composition — words  and  music 
by  Rev.  Robert  Lowry — has  a  record  among  sacred 
songs  like  that  of  "The  Prodigal  Son"  among 
parables. 

A  widowed  lady  of  culture,  about  forty  years  of 
age,  who  was  an  accomplished  vocalist,  had  ceased 
to  sing,  though  her  sweet  voice  was  still  in  its  prime. 
The  cause  was  her  sorrow  for  her  runaway  boy. 
She  had  not  heard  from  him  for  five  years.  While 
spending  a  week  with  friends  in  a  city  distant  from 
home,  her  hidden  talent  was  betrayed  by  the  friends 
to  the  pastor  of  their  church,  where  a  revival  was 
in  progress,  and  persuasion  that  seemed  to  put  a 
duty  upon  her  finally  procured  her  consent  to  sing 
a  solo. 

The  church  was  crowded.  With  a  force  and 
feeling  that  can  easily  be  guessed  she  sang  "Where 
Is  My  Boy  Tonight  .^"  and  finished  the  first  stanza. 
She  began  the  second, — 

Once  he  was  pure  as  morning  dew, 
As  he  knelt  at  his  mother's  knee. 


I 


FIELD    HYMNS.  447 

No  face  was  so  bright,  no  heart  more  true, 
And  none  were  so  sweet  as  he; 

— and  as  the  congregation  caught  up  the  refrain, — 

O  where  is  my  boy  tonight  ? 
O  where  is  my  boy  tonight  ? 
My  heart  o'erflows,  for  I  love  him  he  knows, 
O  where  is  my  boy  tonight  ? 

— a  young  man  who  had  been  sitting  in  a  hack 
seat  made  his  way  up  the  aisle  and  sobbed, 
**  Mother,  Fm  here ! "  The  embrace  of  that  mother 
and  her  long-lost  boy  turned  the  service  into  a 
general  hallelujah.  At  the  inquiry  meeting  that 
night  there  were  many  souls  at  the  Mercy  Seat  who 
never  knelt  there  before — and  the  young  wanderer 
was  one. 

Mr.  Sankey,  when  in  California  with  Mr.  Moody, 
sang  this  hymn  in  one  of  the  meetings  and  told  the 
story  of  a  mother  in  the  far  east  w^ho  had  commis- 
sioned him  to  search  for  her  missing  son.  By  a 
happy  providence  the  son  was  in  the  house — 
and  the  story  and  the  song  sent  him  home 
repentant. 

At  another  time  Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  same 
hymn  from  the  steps  of  a  snow-bound  train,  and 
a  man  between  whose  father  and  himself  had  been 
trouble  and  a  separation,  was  touched,  and  re- 
turned to  be  reconciled  after  an  absence  of  twenty 
years. 

At  one  evening  service  in  Stanberry,  Mo.,  the 
singing  of  the  hymn  by  the  leader  of  the  choir  led 


448         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

to  the  conversion  of  one  boy  who  was  present,  and 
whose  parents  were  that  night  praying  for  him  in 
an  eastern  state,  and  inspired  such  earnest  prayer 
in  the  hearts  of  two  other  runaway  boys'  parents 
that  the  same  answer  followed. 

There  would  not  be  room  in  a  dozen  pages  to 
record  all  the  similar  saving  incidents  connected 
with  the  singing  of  "Where  Is  My  Wandering  Boy  ?*' 
The  rhetoric  of  love  is  strong  in  every  note  and 
syllable  of  the  solo,  and  the  tender  chorus  of  voices 
swells  the  song  to  heaven  like  an  antiphonal 
prayer. 

Strange  to  say,  Dr.  Lowry  set  lightly  by  his 
hymns  and  tunes,  and  deprecated  much  mention  of 
them  though  he  could  not  deny  their  success.  An 
active  Christian  since  seventeen  years  of  age, 
through  his  early  pulpit  service,  his  six  years' 
professorship,  and  the  long  pastorate  in  Plainfield, 
N.  J.,  closed  by  his  death,  he  considered  preaching 
to  be  his  supreme  function  as  it  certainly  was  his 
first  love.  Music  was  to  him  "a  side-issue,"  an 
**  efflorescence,"  and  writing  a  hymn  ranked  far 
below  making  and  delivering  a  sermon.  "I  felt  a 
sort  of  meanness  when  I  began  to  be  known  as  a 
composer,"  he  said.  And  yet  he  was  the  author 
of  a  hymn  and  tune  which  "has  done  more  to 
bring  back  wandering  boys  than  any  other"  ever 
written.* 


♦''WTiere  Is  My  Boy  Tonight"  was  composed  for  a  book  of  temperance 
hymns,  The  Fountain  of  Song,  1877. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  449 

"ETERNITY." 


This  is  the  title  and  refrain  of  both  Mrs.  Ellen 
M.  H.  Gates'  impressive  poem  and  its  tune. 

O  the  clanging  bells  of  Time! 

Night  and  day  they  never  cease; 
We  are  wearied  with  their  chime, 

For  they  do  not  bring  us  peace. 
And  we  hush  our  hearts  to  hear, 

And  we  strain  our  eyes  to  see 
If  thy  shores  are  drawing  near 
Eternity!  Eternity! 

Skill  was  needed  to  vocalize  this  great  word,  but 
the  ear  of  Mr.  Bliss  for  musical  prosody  did  not 
fail  to  make  it  effective.  After  the  beautiful  har- 
mony through  the  seven  lines,  the  choral  reverently 
softens  under  the  rallentando  of  the  closing  bars, 
and  dwelling  on  the  awe-inspiring  syllables,  solemn- 
ly dies  away. 

TRIUMPH  BY  AND  BY. 

This  rally-song  of  the  Christian  arena  is  wonder- 
fully stirring,  especially  in  great  meetings,  for  it 
sings  best  in  full  choral  volume. 

The  prize  is  set  before  us. 
To  win  His  words  implore  us, 
The  eye  of  God  is  o'er  us 

From  on  high. 
His  loving  tones  are  falling 
While  sin  is  dark,  appalling, 
*Tis  Jesus  gently  calling; 

He  is  nigh! 


450         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Chorus. 

By  and  by  we  shall  meet  Him, 
By  and  by  we  shall  greet  Him, 
And  with  Jesus  reign  in  glory. 
By  and  by! 

We'll  follow  where  He  leadeth, 
We'll  pasture  where  He  feedeth. 
We'll  yield  to  Him  who  pleadeth 

From  on  high. 
Then  nought  from  Him  shall  sever. 
Our  hope  shall  brighten  ever 
And  faith  shall  fail  us  never; 

He  is  nigh. 

Chorus —  By  and  by,  etc. 

Dr.  Christopher  Ruby  Blackall,  the  author  of 
the  hymn,  was  born  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  i8, 
1830.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Civil  War,  and  in 
medical  practice  fifteen  years,  but  after\\'ards  be- 
came connected  with  the  American  Baptist  Publi- 
cation Society  as  manager  of  one  of  its  branches. 
He  has  written  several  Sunday-school  songs  set  to 
music  by  W.  H.  Doane. 

THE   TUNE, 

By  Horatio  R.  Palmer  is  exactly  what  the  hymn 
demands.  The  range  scarcely  exceeds  an  octave, 
but  with  the  words  "From  on  high,"  the  stroke  of 
the  soprano  on  upper  D  carries  the  feeling  to 
unseen  summits,  and  verifies  the  title  of  the  song. 
From  that  note,  through  melody  and  chorus  the 
*' Triumph  by  and  by"  rings  clear. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  45I 

"NOT  HALF  HAS  EVER  BEEN  TOLD"' 

This  is  emotional,  but  every  word  and  note  is 
uplifting,  and  creates  the  mood  for  religious 
impressions.  The  writer.  Rev.  John  Bush  Atchi- 
son, was  born  at  Wilson,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  i8,  1840,  and 
died  July  15,  1882. 

I  have  read  of  a  beautiful  city 

Far  away  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
I  have  read  how  its  walls  are  of  jasper, 

How  its  streets  are  all  golden  and  broad; 
In  the  midst  of  the  street  is  Life's  River 

Clear  as  crystal  and  pure  to  behold, 
But  not  half  of  that  city's  bright  glory 

To  mortals  has  ever  been  told. 

The  chorus  (twice  sung) — 

Not  half  has  been  told, 

— concludes  with  repeat  of  the  two  last  lines  of  this 
first  stanza. 

Mr.  Atchison  was  a  Methodist  clergyman  who 
composed  several  good  hymns.  "  Behold  the  Stone 
is  Rolled  Away,"  "O  Crown  of  Rejoicing,"  and 
*' Fully  Persuaded,"  indicate  samples  of  his  work 
more  or  less  well-known.  "Not  Half  Has  Ever 
Been  Told"  was  written  in  1875. 

THE   TUNE, 

Dr.  Otis  F.  Presbry,  the  composer,  was  a  young 
farmer  of  York,  Livingston  Co.,  N.  Y.,  born  there 
the  20th  of  December,   1820.     Choice  of  a  pro- 


452         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

fessional  life  led  him  to  Berkshire  Medical  College, 
where  he  graduated  in  1847.  ^"  after  years  his 
natural  love  of  musical  studies  induced  him  to  give 
his  time  to  compiling  and  publishing  religious 
tunes,  w^ith  hymns  more  especially  for  Sunday- 
schools. 

He  became  a  composer  and  wTote  the  melody 
to  Atchison's  words  in  1877,  which  was  arranged 
by  a  blind  musician  of  Washington,  D.C.,  J.  W. 
BischofF  by  name,  with  whom  he  had  formed  a 
partnership.  The  solo  is  long — would  better, 
perhaps,  have  been  four-line  instead  of  eight — but 
well  sung,  it  is  a  flight  of  melody  that  holds  an 
assembly,  and  touches  hearts. 

Dr.  Presbry's  best  known  book  was  Gospel  Bells 
(1883),  the  joint  production  of  himself,  Bischoff, 
and  Rev.  J.  E.  Rankin.    He  died  Aug.  20,  1901. 

**COME." 


One  of  the  most  characteristic  (both  words  and 
music)  of  the  Gospel  Hymns — "Mrs.  James  Gib- 
son Johnson"  is  the  name  attached  to  it  as  its 
author,  though  we  have  been  unable  to  trace  and 
verify  her  claim. 

O,  word  of  words  the  sweetest, 

O,  words  in  which  there  lie 
All  promise,  all  fulfillment, 

And  end  of  mystery; 
Lamenting  or  rejoicing, 

With  doubt  or  terror  nigh. 


FIELD    HYMNS.  453 

I  hear  the  "Come"  of  Jesuj, 
And  to  His  cross  I  fly. 

Chorus. 

Come,  come — 
Weary,  heavy-laden,  come,  O  come  to  me. 

THE   TUNE, 

Composed  by  James  McGranahan,  delivers  the 
whole  stanza  in  soprano  or  tenor  solo,  when  the 
alto,  joining  the  treble,  leads  off  the  refrain  in  duet, 
the  male  voices  striking  alternate  notes  until  the 
full  harmony  in  the  last  three  bars.  The  style  and 
movement  of  the  chorus  are  somewhat  suggestive 
of  a  popular  glee,  but  the  music  of  the  duet  is 
flexible  and  sweet,  and  the  bass  and  tenor  progress 
with  it  not  in  the  ride-and-tie-fashion  but  marking 
time  wtih  the  title-syllable. 

The  contrast  between  the  spiritual  and  the  in- 
tellectual effect  of  the  hymn  and  its  wakeful  tune  is 
illustrated  by  a  case  in  Baltimore.  While  Moody 
and  Sankey  were  doing  their  gospel  work  in  that 
city,  a  man,  who,  it  seems,  had  brought  a  copy  of 
the  Gospel  Hymns,  walked  out  of  one  of  the  meet- 
ings after  hearing  this  hymn-tune,  and  on  reaching 
home,  tore  out  the  leaves  that  contained  the  song 
and  threw  them  into  the  fire,  saying  he  had  "never 
heard  such  twaddle"  in  all  his  life. 

The  sequel  showed  that  he  had  been  too  hasty. 
The  hymn  would  not  leave  him.  After  hearing  it 
night  and  day  in  his  mind  till  he  began  to  realize 


454         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

what  It  meant,  he  went  to  Mr.  Moody  and  told  him 
he  was  "  a  vile  sinner"  and  wanted  to  know  how  he 
could  "come"  to  Christ.  The  divine  invitation 
was  explained,  and  the  convicted  man  underwent 
a  vital  change.  His  converted  opinion  of  the  hymn 
was  quite  as  remarkably  different.  He  declared  it 
was  "the  sweetest  one  in  the  book."  {Story  of  the 
Gospel  Hymns.) 

"ALMOST  PERSUADED." 


The  Rev.  Mr.  Brundage  tells  the  origin  of  this 
hymn.  In  a  sermon  preached  by  him  many  years 
ago,  the  closing  words  were: 

"He  who  is  almost  persuaded  is  almost  saved, 
but  to  be  almost  saved  is  to  be  entirely  lost."  Mr. 
Bliss,  being  in  the  audience,  was  impressed  with 
the  thought,  and  immediately  set  about  the  com- 
position of  what  proved  one  of  his  most  popular 
songs,  deriving  his  inspiration  from  the  sermon  of 
his  friend,  Mr.  Brundage.     Memoir  of  Bliss. 

Almost  persuaded  now  to  believe, 
Almost  persuaded  Christ  to  receive; 
Seems  now  some  soul  to  say 
"Go  Spirit,  go  thy  way. 
Some  more  convenient  day 
On  Thee  I'll  call." 

Almost  persuaded — the  harvest  is  past! 

Both  hymn  and  tune  are  by  Mr.  Bliss — and  the 
omission  of  a  chorus  is  in  proper  taste.     This  re- 


FIELD    HYMNS.  455 

vival  piece  brings  the  eloquence  of  sense  and  sound 
to  bear  upon  the  conscience  in  one  monitory  plead- 
ing. Incidents  in  this  country  and  in  England 
related  in  Mr.  Sankey's  book,  illustrate  its  power. 
It  has  a  convicting  and  converting  history. 

"MY  AIN  COUNTREE." 


This  hymn  was  written  by  Miss  Mary  Augusta 
Lee  one  Sabbath  day  in  i860  at  Bowmount,  Croton 
Falls,  N.Y.,and  first  published  in  the  New  York 
Observer,  Dec.  1 86 1.  The  authoress  had  been 
reading  the  story  of  John  Macduff  who,  with  his 
wife,  left  Scotland  for  the  United  States,  and  accum- 
ulated property  by  toil  and  thrift  in  the  great  West. 
In  her  leisure  after  the  necessity  for  hard  work 
was  past,  the  Scotch  woman  grew  homesick  and 
pined  for  her  "ain  countree."  Fler  husband,  at 
her  request,  came  east  and  settled  with  her  in  sight 
of  the  Atlantic  where  she  could  see  the  waters  that 
washed  the  Scotland  shore.  But  she  still  pined, 
and  finally  to  save  her  life,  John  Macdruff  took  her 
back  to  the  heather  hills  of  the  mother-land,  where 
she  soon  recovered  her  health  and  spirits. 

I  am  far  from  my  hame  an'  Tm  weary  aften  whiles 

For  the  langed-for  hame-bringing  an'   my   Father's  welcome 

smiles. 
I'll  ne'er  be  fu'  content  until  mine  eyes  do  see 
The  shinin'  gates  o'  heaven  an'  mine  ain  countree. 

The  airt'  is  flecked  wi'  flowers  mony-tinted,  frish  an'  gay, 
The  birdies  warble  blithely,  for  my  Father  made  them  sae. 


456         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

But  these  sights  an*  these  soun's  will  naething  be  to  me 
When  I  hear  the  angels  singin'  in  my  ain  countree. 

Miss  Lee  was  born  in  Croton  Falls  in  1838,  and 
was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  cared  for  by  her  grand- 
father and  a  Scotch  nurse,  her  mother  dying  in  her 
infancy.  In  1870  she  became  the  wife  of  a  Mr. 
Demarest,  and  her  married  life  was  spent  in 
Passaic,  N.  J.,  until  their  removal  to  Pasadena, 
Cal.,  in  hope  of  restoring  her  failing  health.  She 
died  at  Los  Angeles,  Jan.  8,  1888. 

THE   TUNE 

Is  an  air  written  in  1864  in  the  Scottish  style  by 
Mrs.  lone  T.  Hanna,  wife  of  a  banker  in  Denver, 
Colo.,  and  harmonized  for  choral  use  by  Hubert 
P  Main  in  1873.  Its  plaintive  sweetness  suits  the 
words  which  probably  inspired  it.  The  tone  and 
metre  of  the  hymn  were  natural  to  the  young 
author's  inheritance;  a  memory  of  her  grand- 
father's home-land  melodies,  with  which  he  once 
crooned  "Httle  Mary''  to  sleep. 

Sung  as  a  closing  hymn,  "My  ain  countree" 
sends  the  worshipper  away  with  a  tender,  un- 
worldly thought  that  lingers. 

Mrs.  Demarest  wrote  an  additional  stanza  in 
1881  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Main. 

Some  really  good  gospel  hymns  and  tunes 
among  those  omitted  in  this  chapter  will  cry  out 
against  the  choice  that  passed  them  by.  Others 
are  of  the  more  ephemeral  sort,  the  phenomena 


FIELD    HYMNS.  457 

(and  the  demand)  of  a  generation.  Carols  of  pious 
joy  with  inordinate  repetition,  choruses  that  sur- 
prise old  lyrics  with  modern  thrills,  ballads  of 
ringing  sound  and  slender  verse,  are  the  spray  of 
tuneful  emotion  that  sparkles  on  every  revival  high- 
tide,  but  rarely  leaves  floodmarks  that  time  will  not 
erase.  Religious  songs  of  the  demonstrative,  not 
to  say  sensational,  kind  spring  impromptu  from 
the  conditions  of  their  time — and  give  place  to 
others  equally  spontaneous  when  the  next  spiritual 
wave  sweeps  by.  Their  value  lingers  in  the  im- 
pulse their  novelty  gave  to  the  life  of  sanctuary 
worship,  and  in  the  Christian  characters  their 
emotional  power  helped  into  being. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


HYMNS, 
FESTIVAL  AND   OCCASIONAL, 


CHRISTMAS. 


"ADESTE  FIDELES." 

This  hymn  Is  of  doubtful  authorship,  by  some 
assigned  to  as  late  a  date  as  1680,  and  by  others  to 
the  13th  century  as  one  of  the  Latin  poems  of  St. 
Bonaventura,  Bishop  of  Albano,  who  was  born  at 
Bagnarea  in  Tuscany,  A.  D.  122 1.  He  was  a  learned 
man,  a  Franciscan  friar,  one  of  the  greatest  teachers 
and  writers  of  his  church,  and  finally  a  cardinal. 
Certainly  Roman  Catholic  in  its  origin,  whoever  was 
its  author,  it  is  a  Christian  hymn  qualified  in  every 
way  to  be  sung  by  the  universal  church. 

Adeste,  fideles 
Laeti  triumphantes, 
Venite,  venite  in  Bethlehem; 
Natum  videte  Regem  angelorum. 

(458) 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         459 

Chorus. 

Venite,  adoremus, 
Venite,  adoremus! 
Venite,  adoremus  Dominum. 

This  has  been  translated  by  Rev.  Frederick  Oake- 
ley  (1808-1880)  and  by  Rev.  Edv^ard  Caswall 
(18 14-1878)  the  version  of  the  former  being  the  one 
in  more  general  use.  The  ancient  hymn  is  much 
abridged  in  the  hymnals,  and  even  the  translations 
have  been  altered  and  modernized  in  the  three  or 
four  stanzas  com.monly  sung.  Casw^all's  version 
renders  the  first  line  "Come  hither,  ye  faithful," 
literally  construing  the  Latin  v^ords. 

The  following  is  substantially  Oakeley's  English 
of  the  "Adeste,  fideles." 

O  come  all  ye  faithful 
Joyful  and  triumphant, 
To  Bethlehem  hasten  now  with  glad  accord; 
Come  and  behold  Him, 
Born  the  King  of  Angels. 

Chorus. 

O  come,  let  us  adore  Him, 

O  come,  let  us  adore  Him, 

O  come,  let  us  adore  Him, 

Christ,  the  Lord. 

Sing  choirs  of  angels. 
Sing  in  exultation 
Through  Heaven's  high  arches  be  your  praises  poured; 
Now  to  our  God  be 
Glory  in  the  highest! 

O  come,  let  us  adore  Himl 


460  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Yea,  Lord,  we  bless  Thee, 
Born  for  our  salvation 
Jesus,  forever  be  Thy  name  adored! 
Word  of  the  Father 
Now  in  flesh  appearing; 

O  come,  let  us  adore  Him! 

The  hymn  with  its  primitive  music  as  chanted 
in  the  ancient  churches,  was  known  as  "The  Mid- 
night Mass,"  and  was  the  processional  song  of  the 
rehgious  orders  on  their  way  to  the  sanctuaries 
where  they  gathered  in  preparation  for  the  Christ- 
mas morning  service.  The  modern  tune — or  rather 
the  tune  in  modern  use — is  the  one  everywhere 
familiar  as  the  "Portuguese  Hymn."  (See  page  205.) 

MILTON^S  HYMN  TO  THE  NATIVITY. 

It  was  the  winter  wild 

While  the  Heavenly  Child 
All  meanly  wrapped  in  the  rude  manger  lies. 

Nature  in  awe  of  Him 

Had  doffed  her  gaudy  trim 
With  her  great  Master  so  to  sympathize. 

:f:     He     *    :|c     :tc     He 

No  war  nor  battle  sound 

Was  heard  the  world  around. 
The  idle  spear  and  shield  were  high  uphung. 

The  hooked  chariot  stood 

Unstained  with  hostile  blood, 
The  trumpets  spake  not  to  the  armed  throng, 

And  Kings  sat  still  with  awful  eye 
As  if  they  knew  their  Sovereign  Lord  was  by. 

This  exalted  song — the  work  of  a  boy  of  scarcely 
twenty-one — is  a  Greek  ode  in  form,  of  two  hun- 


HYMNS,   FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         461 

dred  and  sixteen  lines  in  twenty-seven  strophes. 
Some  of  its  figures  and  fancies  are  more  to  the 
taste  of  the  seventeenth  century  than  to  ours,  but  it 
is  full  of  poetic  and  Christian  sublimities,  and  its 
high  periods  will  be  heard  in  the  Christmas  hym- 
nody  of  coming  centuries,  though  it  is  not  the  fash- 
ion to  sing  it  now. 

John  Milton,  son  and  grandson  of  John  Miltons, 
was  born  in  Breadstreet,  London,  Dec.  9,  1608, 
fitted  for  the  University  in  St.  Paul's  school,  and 
studied  seven  years  at  Cambridge.  His  parents 
intended  him  for  the  church,  but  he  chose  literature 
as  a  profession,  travelled  and  made  distinguished 
friendships  in  Italy,  Switzerland  and  France,  and 
when  little  past  his  majority  was  before  the  public 
as  a  poet,  author  of  the  Ode  to  the  Nativity,  of  a 
Masque,  and  of  many  songs  and  elegies.  In  later 
years  he  entered  political  life  under  the  stress  of  his 
Puritan  sympathies,  and  served  under  Cromwell  and 
his  successor  as  Latin  Secretary  of  State  through 
the  time  of  the  Commonwealth.  While  in  public 
duty  he  became  blind,  but  in  his  retirement  com- 
posed "Paradise  Lost  and  Paradise  Regained." 
Died  in  1676. 

THE   TUNE. 

In  the  old  "Carmina  Sacra"  a  noble  choral 
(without  name  except  "No  war  nor  battle 
sound")  well  interprets  portions  of  the  4th  and 
5th  stanzas  of  the  great  hymn,  but  replaces  the 
line — 


462  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

**The  idle  spear  and  shield  were  high  uphung." 
— with  the  more  modern  and  less  figurative — 
**No  hostile  chiefs  to  furious  combat  ran." 

Three  stanzas  are  also  added,  by  the  Rev.  H.  O. 
Dwight,  missionary  to  Constantinople.  The  sub- 
stituted line,  which  is  also,  perhaps,  the  composition 
of  Mr.  Dwight,  rhymes  with — 

*'His  reign  of  peace  upon  the  earth  began," 

— and  as  it  is  not  un-Miltonic,  few  singers  have 
ever  known  that  it  was  not  Milton's  own. 

Dr.  John  Knowles  Paine,  Professor  of  Music  at 
Harvard  University,  and  author  of  the  Oratorio 
of  "St.  Peter,"  composed  a  cantata  to  the  great 
Christmas  Ode  of  Milton,  probably  about 
1868. 

Professor  Paine  died  Apr.  25,  1906. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  John  Milton  senior,  the 
great  poet's  father,  was  a  skilled  musician  and  a  com- 
poser of  psalmody.  The  old  tunes  "York"  and 
"Norwich,"  in  Ravenscroft's  collection  and  copied 
from  it  in  many  early  New  England  singing-books, 
are  supposed  to  be  his. 

The  Miltons  were  an  old  Oxfordshire  Catholic 
family,  and  John,  the  poet's  father,  was  disin- 
herited for  turning  Protestant,  but  he  prospered  in 
business,  and  earned  the  comfort  of  a  country 
gentleman.  He  died,  very  aged,  in  May,  1646,  and 
his  son  addressed  a  Latin  poem  ("Ad  Patrem")  to 
his  memory. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         463 

*'HARK!    THE  HERALD  ANGELS  SING." 

This  hymn  of  Charles  Wesley,  dating  about  1 730, 
was  evidently  written  with  the^Adeste  Fideles"  in 
mind,  some  of  the  stanzas,  in  fact,  being  almost 
like  translations  of  it.  The  form  of  the  two  first 
lines  was  originally — 

Hark!  how  all  the  welkin  rings, 
* 'Glory  to  the  King  of  Kings!" 

— but  was  altered  thirty  years  later  by  Rev.  Martin 
Madan  (i 726-1 790)  to — 

Hark!  the  herald  angels  sing 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King! 

Other  changes  by  the  same  hand  modified  the  three 
following  stanzas,  and  a  fifth  stanza  was  added  by 
John  Wesley — 

Hail  the  heavenly  Prince  of  Peace  I 
Hail  the  Sun  of  Righteousness! 
Light  and  life  to  all  He  brings, 
Ris'n  with  healing  in  His  wings, 

THE    TUNE. 

"  Mendelssohn ''  is  the  favorite  musical  interpreter 
of  the  hymn.  It  is  a  noble  and  spirited  choral  from 
Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy's  cantata,  "Gott  ist 
Licht." 

' 7OY  TO  THE  WORLD,  THE  LORD  IS  COME!" 

This  inspirational  lyric  of  Dr.  Watts  never  grows 
old.    It  was  written  in  1 719. 


464         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

Joy  to  the  world!  the  Saviour  reigns! 

Let  men  their  songs  employ 
While  fields  and  floods,  rocks,  hills  and  plains 

Repeat  the  sounding  joy. 

Dr.  Edward  Hodges  (i  796-1867)  wrote  an  ex- 
cellent psalm-tune  to  it  which  is  still  in  occasional 
use,  but  the  music  united  to  the  hymn  in  the  pop- 
ular heart  is  "Antioch,"  an  adaptation  from 
Handel's  Messiah.  This  companionship  holds 
unbroken  from  hymnal  to  hymnal  and  has  done  so 
for  sixty  or  seventy  years;  and,  in  spite  of  its  fugue, 
the  tune — apparently  by  some  magic  of  its  own — 
contrives  to  enlist  the  entire  voice  of  a  congregation, 
the  bass  falling  in  on  the  third  beat  as  if  by  intui- 
tion. The  truth  is,  the  tune  has  become  the  habit 
of  the  hymn,  and  to  the  thousands  who  have  it  by 
heart,  as  they  do  in  every  village  where  there  is  a 
singing  school,  "Antioch"  is  "Joy  to  the  World,'* 
and  "Joy  to  the  World"  is  "Antioch." 

* ^HARKI    WHAT  MEAN  THOSE  HOLY  VOICES  r 

This  fine  hymn,  so  many  years  appearing  with 
the  simple  sign  "  Cawood  "  or  "  J.  Cawood ''  printed 
under  it,  still  holds  its  place  by  universal  welcome. 

Hark!  what  mean  those  holy  voices 
Sweetly  sounding  through  the  skies } 

Lo  th*  angelic  host  rejoices; 
Heavenly  hallelujahs  rise. 

Hear  them  tell  the  wondrous  story. 
Hear  them  chant  in  hymns  of  joy. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         465 

Glory  in  the  highest,  glory, 
Glory  be  to  God  on  high  I 

The  Rev.  John  Cawood,  a  farmer's  son,  was  born 
at  Matlock,  Derbyshire,  Eng.,  March  1 8, 1 775,  grad- 
uated at  Oxford,  1801,  and  was  appointed  perpetual 
curate  of  St.  Anne's  in  Bendly,  Worcestershire. 
Died  Nov.  7, 1 852.  He  is  said  to  have  written  seven- 
teen hymns,  but  was  too  modest  to  publish  any. 

THE   TUNE. 

Dr.  Dykes'  "Oswald,"  and  Henry  Smart's 
"Bethany"  are  worthy  expressions  of  the  feeling 
in  Cawood's  hymn.  In  America,  Mason's  "Am- 
aland,"  with  fugue  in  the  second  and  third  lines, 
has  long  been  a  favorite. 

'  *WHILE  SHEPHERDS  WATCHED  THEIR  FLOCKS." 

This  was  written  by  Nahum  Tate  (1652-1715), 
and  after  two  hundred  years  the  church  remembers 
and  sings  the  song.  Six  generations  have  grown 
up  with  their  childhood  memory  of  its  pictorial 
verses  illustrating  St.  Luke's  Christmas  story. 

While  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night, 

All  seated  on  the  ground, 
The  angel  of  the  Lord  came  down 

And  glory  shone  around. 

**Fear  not"  said  he,  for  mighty  dread 

Had  seized  their  troubled  mind, 
"Glad  tidings  of  great  joy  I  bring 

To  you  and  all  mankind." 


466  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

r  HE     TUNE. 

Modern  hymnals  have  substituted  "Christmas" 
and  other  more  or  less  spirited  tunes  for  Read's 
''Sherburne,"  which  was  the  first  musical  trans- 
lation of  the  hymn  to  American  ears.  But,  to  show 
the  traditional  hold  that  the  New  England  fugue 
melody  maintains  on  the  people,  many  collections 
print  it  as  alternate  tune.  Some  modifications  have 
been  made  in  it,  but  its  survival  is  a  tribute  to  its 
real  merit. 

Daniel  Read,  the  creator  of  "Sherburne,'* 
"Windham,"  "Russia,"  "Stafford,"  "Lisbon,"  and 
many  other  tunes  characteristic  of  a  bygone  school 
of  psalmody,  was  born  in  Rehoboth,  Mass.,  Nov. 
2,  1757.  He  published  The  American  Singing 
Book,  1785,  Columbian  Harmony,  1793,  and  sev- 
eral other  collections.  Died  in  New  Haven,  Ct., 
1836. 

*  'IT  CAME  UPON  THE  MIDNIGHT  CLEAR." 

Rev.  Edmund  Hamilton  Sears,  author  of  this 
beautiful  hymn-poem,  was  born  at  Sandisfield, 
Berkshire  Co.,  Mass.,  April  6,  18 10,  and  educated 
at  Union  College  and  Harvard  University.  He 
became  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  Church  in  Way- 
land,  Mass.,  1838.  Died  in  the  adjoining  town 
of  Weston,  Jan.  14,  1876.  The  hymn  first  ap- 
peared in  the  Christian  Register  in  1857. 

It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear, 
That  glorious  song  of  old, 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         467 

From  angels  bending  near  the  earth 
To  touch  their  harps  of  gold. 

* 'Peace  to  the  earth,  good  will  to  men 
From  Heaven's  all-gracious  King." 
The  world  in  solemn  stillness  lay, 
To  hear  the  angels  sing. 

Still  through  the  cloven  skies  they  come 

With  peaceful  wings  unfurled 
And  still  their  heavenly  music  floats 

O'er  all  the  weary  world. 

Above  its  sad  and  lonely  plains 

They  bend  on  hovering  wing. 
And  ever  o'er  its  Babel  sounds 

The  blessed  angels  sing. 

THE   TUNE. 

No  more  sympathetic  music  has  been  written 
to  these  Hnes  than  *' Carol,"  the  tune  composed  by 
Richard  Storrs  Willis,  a  brother  of  Nathaniel  Parker 
Willis  the  poet,  and  son  of  Deacon  Nathaniel 
Willis,  the  founder  of  the  Touth^s  Companion.  He 
was  born  Feb.  lo,  1819,  graduated  at  Yale  in  1841, 
and  followed  literature  as  a  profession.  He  was 
also  a  musician  and  composer.  For  many  years 
he  edited  the  N.  T.  Musical  World,  and,  besides 
contributing  frequently  to  current  literature,  pub- 
lished Church  Chorals  and  Choir  Studies,  Our 
Church  Music  and  several  other  volumes  on 
musical  subjects.     Died  in  Detroit,  May  7,  1900. 

The  much-loved  and  constantly  used  advent 
psalm  of  Mr.  Sears, — 


468  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night 

Come  heaven's  melodious  strains 
Where  wild  Judea  stretches  far 

Her  silver-mantled  plains, 

— was  set  to  music  by  John  Edgar  Gould,  and  the 
smooth  choral  with  its  sweet  chords  is  a  remarkable 
example  of  blended  voice  and  verse. 

"O  LITTLE  TOWN  OF  BETHLEHEM!" 

Phillips  Brooks,  the  eloquent  bishop  of  Massa- 
chusetts, loved  to  write  simple  and  tender  poems 
for  the  children  of  his  church  and  diocese.  They 
all  reveal  his  loving  heart  and  the  beauty  of  his 
consecrated  imagination.  This  one,  the  best  of  his 
Christmas  Songs,  was  slow  in  coming  to  public 
notice,  but  finally  found  its  place  in  hymn-tune 
collections. 

O  little  town  of  Bethlehem, 

How  still  we  see  thee  lie! 
Above  thy  deep  and  dreamless  sleep 

The  silent  stars  go  by; 
Yet  in  thy  dark  streets  shineth 

The  everlasting  light; 
The  hopes  and  fears  of  all  the  years 

Are  met  in  thee  tonight. 

For  Christ  is  born  of  Mary, 

And  gathered  all  above. 
While  mortals  sleep,  the  angels  keep 

Their  watch  of  wond'ring  love. 
O  morning  stars,  together 

Proclaim  the  holy  birth! 
And  praises  sing  to  God  the  King 

And  peace  to  men  on  earth. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         469 

How  silently,  how  silently, 

The  wondrous  gift  is  given! 
So  God  imparts  to  human  hearts 

The  blessings  of  His  heaven. 

No  ear  may  hear  His  coming, 

But  in  this  world  of  sin. 
Where  meek  souls  will  receive  Him  still 

The  dear  Christ  enters  in. 

Phillips  Brooks,  late  bishop  of  the  diocese  of 
Massachusetts,  was  born  in  Boston,  Dec.  13,  1835; 
died  Jan.  23,  1893.  He  was  graduated  at  Harvard 
in  1855,  and  at  the  Episcopal  Divinity  School  of 
Alexandria,  Va.,  1859.  The  first  ten  years  of  his 
ministry  were  spent  in  Pennsylvania,  after  which 
he  became  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  and 
was  elected  bishop  in  1891.  He  was  an  inspiring 
teacher  and  preacher,  an  eloquent  pulpit  orator, 
and  a  man  of  deep  and  rich  religious  life. 

The  hymn  was  written  in  1868,  and  it  was,  no 
doubt,  the  ripened  thought  of  his  never-forgotten 
visit  to  the  ** little  town  of  Bethlehem*'  two  years 
before. 

THE  TUNE. 

"Bethlehem"  is  the  appropriate  name  of  a  tune 
written  bv  J.  Barnby,  and  adapted  to  the  words, 
but  it  is  the  hymn's  first  melody  (named  "St. 
Louis"  by  the  compiler  who  first  printed  it  in  the 
Church  Porch  from  original  leaflets)  that  has  the 
credit  of  carr)ang  it  to  popularity. 

The  composer  was  Air.  Redner,  organist  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Philadelphia,  of  which 


470  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Rector  Brooks  was  then  in  charge.  Lewis  Henry 
Redner,  born  1831,  was  not  only  near  the  age  of  his 
friend  and  pastor  but  as  much  devoted  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  Sunday-school,  for  whose  use  the 
hymn  was  written,  and  he  had  promised  to  write 
a  score  to  which  it  could  be  sung  on  the  coming 
Sabbath.  Waking  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  after 
a  busy  Saturday  that  sent  him  to  bed  with  his 
brain  "in  a  whirl,"  he  heard  "an  angel  strain," 
and  immediately  rose  and  pricked  the  notes  of  the 
melody.  The  tune  had  come  to  him  just  in  time 
to  be  sung.  A  much  admired  tune  has  also  been 
written  to  this  hymn  by  Hubert  P.  Main. 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


FAURE'S  'TALM  BRANCHES.*' 

Sur  nos  chemins  les  rameaux  et  les  jieurs 
Sont  repandos — 

O'er  all  the  way  green  palms  and  blossoms  gay 
Are  strt-wn  to-day  in  festive  preparation, 
Where  Jesus  comes  to  wipe  our  tears  away. 
E'en  now  the  throng  to  welcome  Him  prepare; 
Join  all  and  sing. — 

Jean  Baptiste  Faure,  author  of  the  words  and 
music,  was  born  at  MouHns,  France,  Jan.  15,  1830. 
As  a  boy  he  was  gifted  with  a  beautiful  voice,  and 
crowds  used  to  gather  wherever  he  sang  in  the 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL  47I 

Streets  of  Paris.  Little  is  known  of  his  parentage, 
and  apparently  the  sweet  voice  of  the  wandering 
lad  was  his  only  fortune.  He  found  wealthy  friends 
who  sent  him  to  the  Conservatoire,  but  when  his 
voice  matured  it  ceased  to  serve  him  as  a  singer. 
He  went  on  with  his  study  of  instrumental  music, 
but  mourned  for  his  lost  vocal  triumphs,  and  his 
longing  became  a  subject  of  prayer.  He  promised 
God  that  if  his  power  to  sing  were  given  back  to 
him  he  would  use  it  for  charity  and  the  good  of 
mankind.  By  degrees  he  recovered  his  voice,  and 
became  known  as  a  great  baritone.  As  profes- 
sional singer  and  composer  at  the  Paris  Grand 
Opera,  he  had  been  employed  largely  in  dramatic 
work,  but  his  **Ode  to  Charity"  is  one  of  his  endur- 
ing and  celebrated  pieces,  and  his  songs  written 
for  benevolent  and  religious  services  have  found 
their  way  into  all  Christian  lands. 

His  "Palm-Branches"  has  come  to  be  a  sin^ 
qua  non  on  its  calendar  Sunday  wherever  church 
worship  is  planned  with  any  regard  to  the  Feasts 
of  the  Christian  year. 


EASTER. 


Perhaps  the  most  notable  feature  in  the  early 
hymnology  of  the  Oriental  Church  was  its  Resur- 
rection songs.  Being  hymns  of  joy,  they  called 
forth  all  the  ceremony  and  spectacle  of  ecclesias- 


472         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

tical  pomp.  Among  them — and  the  most  ancient 
one  of  those  presented — is  the  hymn  of  John  of 
Damascus,  quoted  in  the  second  chapter  (p.  54). 
This  was  the  proclamation-song  in  the  watch- 
assemblies,  when  exactly  on  the  midnight  moment 
at  the  shout  of  "Christos  egerthe!''  (XptjrbqT^YlpOT).) 
"Christ  is  risen!"  thousands  of  torches  were  lit, 
bells  and  trumpets  pealed,  and  (in  the  later  cen- 
turies) salvos  of  cannon  shook  the  air. 

Another  favorite  hymn  of  the  Eastern  Church 
was  the  ** Salve,  Beate  Mane^^  "Welcome,  Happy 
Morning,"  of  Fortunatus.  (Chap.  10,  p.  357.)  This 
poem  furnished  cantos  for  Easter  hymns  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Jerome  of  Prague  sang  stanzas  of 
it  on  his  way  to  the  stake. 

An  anonymous  hymn,  ^'Poneluctum,  Magdelena" 
in  medieval  Latin  rhyme,  is  addressed  to  Mary 
Magdelene  weeping  at  the  empty  sepulchre.  The 
following  are  the  3d  and  4th  stanzas,  with  a  transla- 
tion by  Prof.  C.  S.  Harrington  of  Wesly  an  University: 

Gaude,  plaude,  Magdalena! 

Tumba  Christus  exiit! 
Tristis  est  peracta  scena, 

Victor  mortis  rediit; 
Quern  deflebas  morientem, 
Nunc  arride  resurgentem! 
Alleluia! 

Telle  vultum,  Magdalen  a  1 

Redivivum  aspice; 
Vide  frons  quam  sit  amoena, 

Quinque  plagas  inspice; 
Fulgent,  sic  ut  margaritae, 


KYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         473 

Omamenta  novae  vitae. 
Alleluia! 


Magdalena,  shout  for  gladness! 
Christ  has  left  the  gloomy  grave; 
Finished  is  the  scene  of  sadness; 

Death  destroyed,  He  comes  to  save; 
Whom  with  grief  thou  sawest  dying, 
Greet  with  smiles,  the  tomb  defying. 
Hallelujah! 

Lift  thine  eyes,  O  Magdalena! 

Lo!  thy  Lord  before  thee  stands; 
See!  how  fair  the  thorn-crowned  forehead; 

Mark  His  feet.  His  side.  His  hands; 
Glow  His  wounds  with  pearly  whiteness! 
Hallowing  life  with  heavenly  brightness! 
Hallelujah! 

The  hymnaries  of  the  Christian  Church  for 
seventeen  hundred  years  are  so  rich  in  Easter 
hallelujahs  and  hosannas  that  to  introduce  them 
all  would  swell  a  chapter  to  the  size  of  an  encyclo- 
pedia— and  even  to  make  a  selection  is  a  responsi- 
ble task. 

Simple  mention  must  suffice  of  Luther's — 
In  the  bonds  of  death  He  lay; 

—of  Watts'— 

He  dies,  the  Friend  of  sinners  dies; 
— of  John  Wesley's — 

Our  Lord  has  gone  up  on  high; 
—of  C.  F.  Gellert's— 

Christ  is  risen!  Christ  is  risen! 

He  hath  burst  His  bonds  in  twain; 


474  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

— omitting  hundreds  which  have  been  helpful  in 
psalmody,  and  are,  perhaps,  still  in  choir  or  con- 
gregational use. 

"CHRIST  THE  LORD  IS  RISEN  TODAY" 

Begins  a  hymn  of  Charles  Wesley's  and  is  also  the 
first  line  of  a  hymn  prepared  for  Sunday-school  use 
by  Mrs.  Storrs,  wife  of  the  late  Dr.  Richard  Salter 
Storrs  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Wesley's  hymn  is  sung — with  or  without  the 
hallelujah  interludes — to  "Telemann's  Chant," 
(Zeuner),  to  an  air  of  Mendelssohn,  and  to  John 
Strainer's  "Paschale  Gaudium."  Like  the  old 
New  England  "Easter  Anthem"  it  appears  to  have 
been  suggested  by  an  anonymous  translation  of 
some  more  ancient  (Latin)  antiphony. 

Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to  day. 

Hallelujah! 

Our  triumphant  holy  day, 

Hallelujah! 

#     4:     *     *     *     * 

Who  endured  the  cross  and  grave, 

Hallelujah! 
Sinners  to  redeem  and  save, 

Hallelujah! 

AN  ANTHEM  FOR  EASTER. 


This  work  of  an  amateur  genius,  with  its  rustic 
harmonies,  suited  the  taste  of  colonial  times,  and 
no   doubt   the   devout   church-goers   of  that   day 


I 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         475 

found  sincere  worship  and  thanksgiving  in  its 
flamboyant  music.  "An  Anthem  for  Easter/'  in 
A  major  by  William  Billings  (1785)  occupied 
several  pages  in  the  early  collections  of  psalmody 
and  "the  sounding  joy"  was  in  it.  Organs  were 
scarce,  but  beyond  the  viols  of  the  village  choirs  it 
needed  no  instrumental  accessories.  The  language 
is  borrowed  from  the  New  Testament  and 
JToung's  Night  Thoughts. 

The  Lord  is  risen  indeed! 

Hallelujah! 
The  Lord  is  risen  indeed! 

Hallelujah! 

Following  this  triumphant  overture,  a  recitative 
bass  solo  repeats  i  Cor.  15:20,  and  the  chorus  takes 
it  up  with  crowning  hallelujahs.  Different  parts, 
per  fug  am,  inquire  from  clef  to  clef — 

And  did  He  rise  ? 
And  did  He  rise  ? — 
Hear  [the  answer),  O  ye  narionsi 
Hear  it,  O  ye  dead! 

Then  duet,  trio  and  chorus  sing  it,  successively — 

He  rose!  He  rose!  He  rose! 
He  burst  the  bars  of  death, 
And  triumphed  o'er  the  grave! 

The  succeeding  thirty-four  bars — duet  and  chorus 
— take  home  the  sacred  gladness  to  the  heart  of 
humanity — 

Then,  then  /  rose, 

:((     >|!     >ic     >):     *     'fc 


476  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

And  seized  eternal  youth, 
Man  all  immortal,  hail! 
Heaven's  all  the  glory,  man's  the  boundless  bliss. 

"YES,  THE  REDEEMER  ROSE." 

In  the  six-eight  syllable  verse  once  known  as 
"hallelujah  metre" — written  by  Dr.  Doddridge 
to  be  sung  after  a  sermon  on  the  text  in  ist  Co- 
rinthians noted  in  the  above  anthem — 

Yes,  the  Redeemer  rose, 

The  Saviour  left  the  dead. 
And  o'er  our  hellish  foes 

High  raised  His  conquering  head. 
In  wild  dismay  the  guards  around 
Fall  to  the  ground  and  sink  away. 

Lewis  Edson's  "Lenox"  (1782)  is  an  old  favorite 
among  its  musical  interpreters. 

*^0  SHORT  WAS  HIS  SLUMBER." 

This  hymn  for  the  song-service  of  the  Ruggles 
St.  Church,  Boston,  was  written  by  Rev.  Theron 
Brown. 

O  short  was  His  slumber;   He  woke  from  the  dust; 

The  Saviour  death's  chain  could  not  hold; 
And  short,  since  He  rose,  is  the  sleep  of  the  just; 

They  shall  wake,  and  His  glory  behold. 

:4e     4:     :(:     *     He     * 

Dear  grave  in  the  garden;  hope  smiled  at  its  door 
Where  love's  brightest  triumph  was  told; 

Christ  lives!  and  His  life  will  His  people  restore; 
They  shall  wake,  and  His  glory  behold. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         477 

The  music  is  Bliss'  tune  to  SpafFord's  "When 
Peace  Like  a  River/* 

Another  by  the  same  writer,  sung  by  the  same 
church  chorus,  is — 

He  rose!  O  morn  of  wonder! 

They  saw  His  light  go  down 
Whose  hate  had  crushed  Him  under, 

A  King  without  a  crown. 
No  plume,  no  garland  wore  He, 

Despised  death's  Victor  lay, 
And  wrapped  in  night  His  glory, 

That  claimed  a  grander  day. 

****** 

He  rose!  He  burst  immortal 

From  death's  dark  realm  alone, 
And  left  its  heavenward  portal 

Swung  wide  for  all  his  own. 
Nor  need  one  terror  seize  us 

To  face  earth's  final  pain. 
For  they  who  follow  Jesus, 

But  die  to  live  again. 

The  composer's  name  is  lost,  the  tune  being  left 
nameless  when  printed.  The  impression  is  that 
it  was  a  secular  melody.  A  very  suitable  tune  for 
the  hymn  is  Geo.  J.  Webb's  "Millennial  Dawn" 
("the  Morning  Light  is  breaking.") 


4/8  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

THANKSGIVING. 


"DIE  FELDER  WIR  PFLUGEN  UND  STREUEN.'* 

We  plow  the  fields  and  scatter 

The  good  seed  on  the  land, 
But  it  is  fed  and  watered 

By  God's  Almighty  hand, 
He  sends  the  snow  in  winter. 

The  warmth  to  swell  the  grain, 
The  breezes,  and  the  sunshine 

And  soft,  refreshing  rain. 
All,  all  good  gifts  around  us 

Are  sent  from  heaven  above 
Then  thank  the  Lord,  O  thank  the  Lord 
For  all  His  love! 

Matthias  Claudius,  who  wrote  the  German 
original  of  this  little  poem,  was  a  native  of  Rein- 
feld,  Holstein,  born  1770  and  died  18 15.  He  wrote 
lyrics,  humorous,  pathetic  and  religious,  some  of 
which  are  still  current  in  Germany. 

The  translator  of  the  verses  is  Miss  Jane  Mont- 
gomery Campbell,  whose  identity  has  not  been 
traced.  Hers  is  evidently  one  of  the  retiring  names 
brought  to  light  by  one  unpretending  achievement. 
English  readers  owe  to  her  the  above  modest  and 
devout  hymn,  which  was  first  published  here  in 
Rev.  C.  S.  Bere's  Garland  of  Songs  with  Tunes, 
1861. 

Little  is  known  of  Arthur  Cottman,  composer  to 
Miss  Campbell's  words.  He  was  born  in  1842, 
and  died  in  1879. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL. 


479 


"WITH  SONGS  AND  HONORS  SOUNDING  LOUD." 

Stanzas  of  this  enduring  hymn  of  Watts'  have 
been  as  often  recited  as  sung. 

He  sends  His  showers  of  blessing  down 

To  cheer  the  plains  below; 
He  makes  the  grass  the  mountains  crown, 

And  corn  in  valleys  grow. 

THE   TUNE, 

One  of  the  chorals — if  not  the  best — <o  claim 
partnership  with  this  sacred  classic,  is  John  Cole's 
"Geneva,"  distinguished  among  the  few  fugue 
tunes  which  the  singing  world  refuses  to  dismiss. 
There  is  a  growing  grandeur  in  the  opening  solo 
and  its  following  duet  as  they  climb  the  first  tetra- 
chord,  when  the  full  harmony  suddenly  reveals 
the  majesty  of  the  music.  The  little  parenthetic 
duo  at  the  eighth  bar  breaks  the  roll  of  the  song 
for  one  breath,  and  the  concord  of  voices  closes  in 
again  like  a  diapason.  One  thinks  of  a  bird-note 
making  a  waterfall  hsten. 

"HARVEST  HOME." 


Let  us  sing  of  the  sheaves,  when  the  summer  is  done, 
And  the  garners  are  stored  with  the  gifts  of  the  sun. 
Shouting  home  from  the  fields   like  the  voice  of  the  sea, 
Let  us  join  with  the  reapers  in  glad  jubilee, — 
Refrain. 

Harvest  home!       {double  rep.) 
Let  us  chant  His  praise  who  has  crowned  our  days 
With  bounty  of  the  harvest  home. 


480         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Who  hath  ripened  the  fruits  into  golden  and  red  ? 
Who  hath  grown  in  the  valleys  our  treasures  of  bread, 
That  the  owner  might  heap,  and  the  stranger  might  glean 
For  the  days  when  the  cold  of  the  winter  is  keen  ? 
Harvest  home! 

Let  us  chant,  etc. 

For  the  smile  of  the  sunshine,  again  and  again. 
For  the  dew  on  the  garden,  the  showers  on  the  plain. 
For  the  year,  with  its  hope  and  its  promise  that  end. 
Crowned  with  plenty  and  peace,  let  thanksgiving  ascend. 
Harvest  home! 

Let  us  chant,  etc. 

We  shall  gather  a  harvest  of  glory,  we  know. 
From  the  furrows  of  life  where  in  patience  we  sow. 
Buried  love  in  the  field  of  the  heart  never  dies. 
And  its  seed  scattered  here  will  be  sheaves  in  the  skies. 
Harvest  home! 

Let  us  chant,  etc. 

Thanksgiving  Hymn.     Boston,  1890.     Theron 
Brown. 

Tune  "To  the  Work,  To  the  Work."  W.  H. 
Doane. 

"THE  GOD  OF  HARVEST  PRAISE." 


Written  by  James  Montgomery  in  1840,  and 
published  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine  as  the 
Harvest  Hymn  for  that  year. 

The  God  of  harvest  praise; 
In  loud  thanksgiving  raise 

Heart,  hand  and  voice. 
The  valleys  smile  and  sing, 
Forests  and  mountains  sing. 
The  plains  their  tribute  bring. 

The  streams  rejoice. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         481 

s((     >|e     )(e     3|e     :)(     3|c 

The  God  of  harvest  praise; 
Hearts,  hands  and  voices  raise 

With  sweet  accord; 
From  field  to  garner  throng, 
Bearing  your  sheaves  along, 
And  in  your  harvest  song 

Bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Tune,  "Dort'* — Lowell  Mason. 


MORNING. 


"STILL,  STILL  WITH  THEE." 

These  stanzas  of  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe, 
with  their  poetic  beauty  and  grateful  religious 
spirit,  have  furnished  an  orison  worthy  of  a  place 
in  all  the  hymn  books.  In  feeling  and  in  faith  the 
hymn  is  a  matin  song  for  the  world,  supplying 
words  and  thoughts  to  any  and  every  heart  that 
worships. 

Still,  still  with  Thee,  when  purple  morning  breaketh, 
When  the  bird  waketh  and  the  shadows  flee; 

Fairer  than  morning,  lovelier  than  daylight, 

Dawns  the  sweet  consciousness,  I  am  with  Thee. 

Alone  with  Thee,  amid  the  mystic  shadows 
The  solemn  hush  of  nature  newly  born; 

Alone  with  Thee,  in  breathless  adoration. 
In  the  calm  dew  and  freshness  of  the  mom. 

****** 


482  STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

When  sinks  the  soul,  subdued  by  toil,  to  slumber, 
Its  closing  eyes  look  up  to  Thee  in  prayer, 

Sweet  the  repose  beneath  Thy  wings  overshadowing, 
But  sweeter  still  to  wake  and  find  Thee  there, 

THE   TUNES. 

Barnby's  "Windsor,"  and  "Stowe"  by  Charles 
H.    Morse    (1893) — both   written    to    the   words. 

Mendelssohn's  "Consolation"  is  a  classic  in- 
terpretation of  the  hymn,  and  finely  impressive 
when  skillfully  sung,  but  simpler — and  sweeter 
to  the  popular  ear — is  Mason's  "  Henley,"  written 
to  Mrs.  Eslings' — 

"Come  unto  me  when  shadows  darkly  gather." 


EVENING  HYMNS, 


John  Keble's  beautiful  meditation — 

Sun  of  my  soul,  Thou  Saviour  dear; 
John  Leland's — 

The  day  is  past  and  gone; 
and  Phebe  Brown's — 

I  love  to  steal  awhile  away; 

— have  already  been  noticed.  Bishop  Doane's 
gentle  and  spiritual  lines  express  nearly  everything 
that  a  worshipping  soul  would  include  in  a  moment 
of  evening  thought.  The  first  and  last  stanzas  are 
the  ones  most  commonly  sung. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         483 

Softly  now  the  light  of  day 
Fades  upon  my  sight  away: 
Free  from  care,  from  labor  free, 
Lord  I  would  commune  with  Thee. 

Soon  for  me  the  light  of  day 
Shall  forever  pass  away; 
Then,  from  sin  and  sorrow  free, 
Take  me,  Lord,  to  dwell  with  Thee. 

THE    TUNE. 

Both  Kozeluck  and  J.  E.  Gould,  besides  Louis 
M.  Gottschalk  and  Dr.  Henry  John  Gauntlett, 
have  tried  their  skill  in  fitting  music  to  this  hymn, 
but  only  Gottschalk  and  Kozeluck  approach  the 
mood  into  which  its  quiet  v^ords  charm  a  pious  and 
reflective  mind.  Possibly  its  frequent  association 
with  "Holley,"  composed  by  George  Hews,  may 
influence  a  hearer's  judgement  of  other  melodies 
but  there  is  something  in  that  tune  that  makes 
it  cling  to  the  hymn  as  if  by  instinctive  kin- 
ship. 

Others  may  have  as  much  or  more  artistic  music 
but  "Holley"  in  its  soft  modulations  seems  to 
breathe  the  spirit  of  every  word. 

It  was  this  tune  to  which  a  stranger  recently 
heard  a  group  of  mill-girls  singing  Bishop  Doane's 
verses.  The  lady,  a  well-known  Christian  worker, 
visited  a  certain  factory,  and  the  superintendent, 
after  showing  her  through  the  building,  opened  a 
door  into  a  long  work-room,  where  the  singing  of  the 


484         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

girls  delighted  and  surprised  her.     It  was  sunset, 
and  their  hymn  was — 

Sofdy  now  the  light  of  day. 

Several  of  the  girls  were  Sunday-school  teachers, 
who  had  encouraged  others  to  sing  at  that  hour, 
and  It  had  become  a  habit. 

"Has  it  made  a  difference  .^"  the  lady  inquired. 

"There  is  seldom  any  quarrelling  or  coarse  jok- 
ing among  them  now,'*  said  the  superintendent  with 
a  smile. 

Dr.  S.  F.  Smith's  hymn  of  much  the  same  tone 
and  tenor — 

Softly  fades  the  twilight  ray 
Of  the  holy  Sabbath  day, 

— IS  commonly  sung  to  the  tune  of  "  Holley. " 

George  Hews,  an  American  composer  and  piano- 
maker,  was  born  in  Massachusetts  1800,  and  died 
July  6,  1873.  No  intelligence  of  him  or  his  work 
or  former  locality  is  at  hand,  beyond  this  brief  note 
in  Baptie,  "He  is  believed  to  have  followed  his 
trade  in  Boston,  and  written  music  for  some  of 
Mason's  earlier  books. 


DEDICATION, 


''CHRIST  IS  OUR  CORNER-STONE." 

''  '  '  .       ■ 

This  reproduces  in  Chandler's  translation  a  song- 
service  in  an  ancient  Latin  liturgy  {angulare  funda' 
mentum). 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         485 

Christ  is  our  Comer-Stone; 
On  Him  alone  we  build. 
With  His  true  saints  alone 

The  courts  of  heaven  are  filled. 
On  His  great  love 
Our  hopes  we  place 
Of  present  grace 
And  joys  above. 

O  then  with  hymns  of  praise 

These  hallowed  courts  shall  ring; 
Our  voices  we  will  raise 
The  Three-in-One  to  sing. 
And  thus  proclaim 
In  joyful  song 
But  loud  and  long 
That  glorious  Name. 

The  Rev.  John  Chandler  v^as  born  at  Witley, 
Surrey,  Eng.  June  i6,  1806.  He  took  his  A.M. 
degree  at  Oxford,  and  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Church  of  England,  was  Vicar  of  Witley  many 
years,  and  became  well-knov^n  for  his  translations 
of  hymns  of  the  primitive  church.  Died  at  Putney, 
July  I,  1876. 

THE  TUNE, 

Sebastian  Wesley's  "  Harewood  '*  is  plainer  and  of 
less  compass,  but  Zundel's  "Brooklyn"  is  more 
than  its  rival,  both  in  melody  and   vivacity. 

"OH  LORD  OF  HOSTS  WHOSE  GLORY  FILLS 
THE  BOUNDS  OF  THE  ETERNAL  HILLS." 

A  hymn  of  Dr.  John  Mason  Neale — 


486  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

Endue  the  creatures  with  Thy  grace 
That  shall  adorn  Thy  dwelling-place 
The  beauty  of  the  oak  and  pine, 
The  gold  and  silver,  make  them  Thine. 

The  heads  that  guide  endue  with  skill, 
The  hands  that  work  preserve  from  ill, 
That  we  who  these  foundations  lay 
May  raise  the  top-stone  in  its  day. 

THE   TUNE. 

"Welton,"  by  Rev.  Caesar  Malan — author  of 
"Hendon,"  once  familiar  to  American  singers. 

Henri  Abraham  Caesar  Malan  was  born  at  Gen- 
eva, Switzerland,  1787,  and  educated  at  Geneva 
College.  Ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  State 
church,  (Reformed,)  he  was  dismissed  for  preach- 
ing against  its  formalism  and  spiritual  apathy;  but 
he  built  a  chapel  of  his  own,  and  became  a  leader 
with  D'Aubigne,  Monod,  and  others  in  reviving 
the  purity  of  the  EvangeHcal  faith  and  laboring  for 
the  conversion  of  souls. 

Malan  wrote  many  hymns,  and  published  a  large 
collection,  the  ''Chants  de  Siotiy'  for  the  Evan- 
gelical Society  and  the  French  Reformed  Church. 
He  composed  the  music  of  his  own  hymns.  Died 
at  Vandosurre,  1864. 

"DAUGHTER  OF  ZION,  FROM  THE  DUST." 

Cases  may  occur  where  an  exhortation  hymn 
earns  a  place  with  dedication  hymns. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         487 

The  charred  fragment  of  a  hymn-book  leaf 
hangs  in  a  frame  on  the  auditorium  wall  of  the 
**New  England  Church,"  Chicago.  The  former 
edifice  of  that  church,  all  the  homes  of  its  resident 
members,  and  all  their  business  offices  except  one, 
were  destroyed  in  the  great  fire.  In  the  ruins  of 
their  sanctuary  the  only  scrap  of  paper  found  on 
which  there  was  a  legible  word  was  this  bit  of  a 
hymn-book  leaf  with  the  two  first  stanzas  of  Mont- 
gomery's hymn, 

Daughter  of  Zion,  from  the  dust. 

Exalt  thy  fallen  head; 
Again  in  thy  Redeemer  trust, 

He  calls  thee  from  the  dead. 

Awake,  awake!  put  on  thy  strength, 

Thy  beautiful  array; 
The  day  of  freedom  dawns  at  length, 

The  Lord's  appointed  day. 

The  third  verse  was  not  long  in  coming  to  every 
mind — 

Rebuild  thy  walls!  thy  bounds  enlarge! 

— and  even  without  that  added  word  the  impov- 
erished congregation  evidently  enough  had  received 
a  message  from  heaven.  They  took  heart  of  grace, 
overcame  all  difficulties,  and  in  good  time  replaced 
their  ruined  Sabbath-home  with  the  noble  house 
in  which  they  worship  today.* 

If  the  "New  England  Church"  of  Chicago  did 
not  sing  this  hymn  at  the  dedication  of  their  new 

*The  stoiy  is  told  by  Rev.  William  E.  Barton  D.D.  of  Oak  Park,  HI. 


/ 


488         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

temple  it  was  for  some  other  reason  than  lack  of 
gratitude — not  to  say  reverence. 


THE  SABBATH, 


The  very  essence  of  all  song-w^orship  pitched  on 
this  key-note  is  the  ringing  hymn  of  Watts — 

Sweet  is  the  day  of  sacred  rest, 

No  mortal  cares  disturb  my  breast,  etc. 

— but  It  has  vanished  from  the  hymnals  with  its  tune. 
Is  it  because  profane  people  or  thoughtless  youth 
made  a  travesty  of  the  two  next  lines — 

O  may  my  heart  in  tune  be  found 
Like  David's  harp  of  solemn  sound  ? 

THE    TUNE. 

Old  "Portland"  by  Abraham  Maxim,  a  fugue 
tune  in  F  major  of  the  canon  style,  expressed  all 
the  joy  that  a  choir  could  put  into  music,  though 
with  more  sound  than  skill.  The  choral  is  a  relic 
among  reHcs  now,  but  it  is  a  favorite  one. 

"Sweet  is  the  Light  of  Sabbath  Eve"  by  Edmes- 
ton;  Stennett's  "Another  Six  Days'  Work  is  Done," 
sung  to  "  Spohr, "  the  joint  tune  of  Louis  Spohr  and 
J.E.Gould;  and  Doddridge's  "Thine  Earthly  Sab- 
bath, Lord,  We  Love"  retain  a  feeble  hold  among 
some  congregations.  And  Hayward's  "Welcome 
Delightful  Morn,"  to  the  impossible  tune  of  "Lis- 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         489 

cher,"  survived  unaccountably  long  in  spite  of  its 
handicap.  But  special  Sabbath  hymns  are  out  of 
fashion,  those  classed  under  that  title  taking  an  in- 
cidental place  under  the  general  head  of  "  Worship.*' 


COMMUNION. 


"BREAD  OF  HEAVEN,  ON  THEE  WE  FEED." 

- 

This  hymn  of  Josiah  Conder,  copying  the  phy- 
sical metaphors  of  the  6th  of  John,  is  still  occasion- 
ally used  at  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Vine  of  Heaven,  Thy  blood  supph'es 
This  blest  cup  of  sacrifice, 
Lord,  Thy  wounds  our  heahng  give, 
To  Thy  Cross  we  look  and  live. 

The  hymn  is  notable  for  the  feHcity  with  which 
it  combines  imagery  and  reality.  Figure  and  fact 
are  always  in  sight  of  each  other. 

Josiah  Conder  was  born  in  London,  September 
17,  1789.  He  edited  the  Eclectic  Review,  and  was 
the  author  of  numerous  prose  works  on  historic 
and  religious  subjects.  Rev.  Garrett  Horder  says 
that  more  of  his  hymns  are  in  common  use  now 
than  those  of  any  other  except  Watts  and  Dod- 
dridge. More  in  proportion  to  the  relative  number 
may  be  nearer  the  truth.  In  his  lifetime  Conder 
wrote    about    sixty   hymns.    He    died    Dec.    27, 

1855. 


490  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  tune  "Corsica"  sometimes  sung  to  the 
words,  though  written  by  the  famous  Von  Gluck, 
shows  no  sign  of  the  genius  of  its  author.  Born  at 
Weissenwang,  near  New  Markt,  Prussia,  July  2, 
1 7 14,  he  spent  his  hfe  in  the  service  of  operatic 
art,  and  is  called  "the  father  of  the  lyric  drama," 
but  he  paid  little  attention  to  sacred  music.  Queen 
Marie  Antoinette  was  for  a  while  his  pupil.  Died 
Nov.  25,  1787. 

"Wilmot,"  (from  Von  Weber)  one  of  Mason^s 
popular  hymn-tune  arrangements.  Is  a  melody  with 
which  the  hymn  Is  well  acquainted.  It  has  a  fire- 
side rhythm  which  old  and  young  of  the  same 
circles  take  up  naturally  in  song. 

**HERE,  O  MY  LORD,  I  SEE  THEE  FACE  TO  FACE." 

Written  in  October,  1855,  by  Dr.  Horatlus  Bonar. 
James  Bonar,  brother  of  the  poet-preacher,  just 
after  the  communion  for  that  month,  asked  him  to 
furnish  a  hymn  for  the  communion  record.  It  was 
the  church  custom  to  print  a  memorandum  of  each 
service  at  the  Lord's  table,  with  an  appropriate 
hymn  attached,  and  an  original  one  would  be  thrice 
welcome.  Horatius  in  a  day  or  two  sent  this 
hymn: 

Here,  O  my  Lord,  I  see  Thee  face  to  face, 
Here  would  I  touch  and  handle  things  unseen 
Here  grasp  with  firmer  hand  th'  eternal  grace, 
And  all  my  weariness  upon  Thee  lean. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         49I 


^     ^     Ji:     ^     ^     ^ 


Too  soon  we  rise;   the  symbols  disappear; 
The  feast,  though  not  the  love,  is  past  and  gone; 
The  bread  and  wine  remove,  but  Thou  art  here, 
Nearer  than  ever — still  my  Shield  and  Sun. 

THE   TUNE. 

"Morecambe''  is  an  anonymous  composition 
printed  with  the  words  by  the  Plymouth  Hymnal 
editors.  "  Bedin  "  by  Mendelssohn  is  better.  The 
metreof  Bonar'shymn  is  unusual,  and  melodies  to 
fit  it  are  not  numerous,  but  for  a  meditative  service 
it  is  worth  a  tune  of  its  own. 

"O  THOU  MY  SOUL,  FORGET  NO  MORE." 

The  author  of  this  hymn  found  in  the  Baptist 
hymnals,  and  often  sung  at  the  sacramental  seasons 
of  that  denomination,  was  the  first  Hindoo  convert 
to  Christianity. 

Krishna  Pal,  a  native  carpenter,  in  consequence 
of  an  accident,  came  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Thomas, 
a  missionary  who  had  been  a  surgeon  in  the  East 
Indies  and  was  now  an  associate  worker  with 
William  Carey.  Mr.  Thomas  set  the  man's  broken 
arm,  and  talked  of  Jesus  to  him  and  the  surround- 
ing crowd  with  so  much  tact  and  loving  kindness 
that  Krishna  Pal  was  touched.  He  became  a  pupil 
of  the  missionaries;  embraced  Christ,  and  in- 
fluenced his  wife  and  daughter  and  his  brother  to 
accept  his  new  faith. 


/ 


492  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

He  alone,  however,  dared  the  bitter  persecution 
of  his  caste,  and  presented  himself  for  church- 
membership.  He  and  Carey's  son  were  baptized 
in  the  Ganges  by  Dr.  Carey,  Dec.  28,  1800,  in  the 
presence  of  the  English  Governor  and  an  immense 
concourse  of  people  representing  four  or  five  differ- 
ent religions. 

Krishna  Pal  wrote  several  hymns.  The  one  here 
noted  was  translated  from  the  Bengalee  by  Dr. 
Marshman. 

O  thou,  my  soul,  forget  no  more 
The  Friend  who  all  thy  sorrows  bore; 
Let  every  idol  be  forgot; 
But,  O  my  soul,  forget  him  not. 

Renounce  thy  works  and  ways,  with  grief. 
And  fly  to  this  divine  relief; 
Nor  Him  forget,  who  left  His  throne, 
And  for  thy  life  gave  up  His  own. 

Eternal  truth  and  mercy  shine 

In  Him,  and  He  Himself  is  thine: 

And  canst  thou  then,  with  sin  beset. 

Such  charms,  such  matchless  charms  forget  ? 

Oh,  no;   till  life  itself  depart, 
His  name  shall  cheer  and  warm  my  heart; 
And  lisping  this,  from  earth  I'll  rise, 
And  join  the  chorus  of  the  skies. 

THE    TUNE. 

There  is  no  scarcity  of  good  long-metre  tunes  to 
suit  the  sentiment  of  this  hymn.  More  commonly 
in  the  Baptist  manuals  its  vocal  mate  is  Brad- 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         493 

bury's  "Rolland''  or  the  sweet  and  serious  Scotch 
melody  of  *' Ward,"  arranged  by  Mason.  Best  of 
all  is  "Hursley,"  the  beautiful  Ritter-Monk 
choral  set  to  "Sun  of  My  Soul." 


NEW  TEAR. 


Two  representative  hymns  of  this  class  are  John 
Newton's — 

While  with  ceaseless  course  the  sun, 

■ — and  Charles  Wesley's — 

Come  let  us  anew  our  journey  pursue; 

the  one  a  voice  at  the  next  year's  threshold,  the 
other  a  song  at  the  open  door. 

While  with  ceaseless  course  the  sun 
Hasted  thro'  the  former  year 
Many  souls  their  race  have  run 
Nevermore  to  meet  us  here. 
****** 

As  the  winged  arrow  flies 
Speedily  the  mark  to  find, 
As  the  hghtening  from  the  skies 
Darts  and  leaves  no  trace  behind, 
Swiftly  thus  our  fleeting  days 
Bear  we  down  life's  rapid  stream, 
Upward,  Lord,  our  spirits  raise; 
All  below  is  but  a  dream. 

A  grave  occasion,  whether  unexpected  or  peri- 
odical, will  force  reflection,  and  so  will  a  grave 


494         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

truth;  and  when  both  present  themselves  at  once, 
the  truth  needs  only  commonplace  statement.  If 
the  statement  is  in  rhyme  and  measure  more  at- 
tention is  secured.  Add  a  tune  to  it,  and  the  most 
frivolous  v^ill  take  notice.  Newton's  hymn  sung 
on  the  last  evening  of  the  year  has  its  opportunity — 
and  never  fails  to  produce  a  solemn  effect;  but 
it  is  to  the  immortal  music  given  to  it  in  Samuel 
Webbe's  "  Benevento"  that  it  owes  its  unique  and 
permanent  place.  Dykes'  "St.  Edmund''  may  be 
sung  in  England,  but  in  America  it  will  never  re- 
place Webbe's  simple  and  wonderfully  impressive 
choral. 

Charles  Wesley's  hymn  is  the  antipode  of  New- 
ton's in  metre  and  movement. 

Come,  let  us  anew  our  journey  pursue, 

Roll  round  with  the  year 
And  never  stand  still  till  the  Master  appear. 
His  adorable  will  let  us  gladly  fulfil 

And  our  talents  improve 
By  the  patience  of  hope  and  the  labor  of  love. 

Our  life  is  a  dream,  our  time  as  a  stream 

Glides  swiftly  away, 
And  the  fugitive  moment  refuses  to  stay. 
The  arrow  is  flown,  the  moment  is  gone, 

The  millennial  year, 
Rushes  on  to  our  view,  and  eternity's  near. 

One  could  scarcely  imagine  a  greater  contrast 
than  between  this  hymn  and  Newton's.  In  spite 
of  its  eccentric  metre  one  cannot  dismiss  it  as 
rhythmical  jingle,  for  it  is  really  a  sermon  shaped 
into  a  popular  canticle,  and  the  surmise  is  not  a 


I 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         495 

difficult  one  that  he  had  in  mind  a  secular  air  that 
was  famihar  to  the  crowd.  But  the  hymn  is  not 
one  of  Wesley's  poems.  Compilers  who  object  to 
its  lilting  measure  omit  it  from  their  books,  but  it 
holds  its  place  in  public  use,  for  it  carries  weighty 
thoughts  in  swift  sentences. 

0  that  each  in  the  Day  of  His  coming  may  say, 
*'I  have  fought  my  way  through, 

1  have  finished  the  work  Thou  didst  give  me  to  do." 
O  that  each  from  the  Lord  may  receive  the  glad  word, 

**Well  and  faithfully  done. 
Enter  into  my  joy,  and  sit  down  on  my  throne." 

For  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  this  has  been  sung 
in  the  Methodist  watch-meetings,  and  it  will  be 
long  before  it  ceases  to  be  sung — and  reprinted  in 
Methodist,  and  some  Baptist  hymnals. 

The  tune  of  "Lucas,"  named  after  James  Lucas, 
its  composer,  is  the  favorite  vehicle  of  song  for 
the  "Watch-hymn."  Like  the  tune  to  "O  How 
Happy  Are  They,"  it  has  the  movement  of  the  words 
and  the  emphasis  of  their  meaning. 

No  knowledge  of  James  Lucas  is  at  hand  except 
that  he  lived  in  England,  where  one  brief  reference 
gives  his  birth-date  as  1762  and  "about  1805"  as 
the  birth-date  of  the  tune. 

"GREAT  GOD,  WE  SING  THAT  MIGHTY  HAND. " 

The  admirable  hymn  of  Dr.  Doddridge  may  be 
noted  in  this  division  with  its  equally  admirable 


49^  STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

tune  of  "Melancthon,"  one  of  the  old  Lutheran 
chorals  of  Germany. 

Great  God,  we  sing  that  mighty  hand 
By  which  supported  still  we  stand. 
The  opening  year  Thy  mercy  shows; 
Thy  mercy  crown  it  till  its  close! 

By  day,  by  night,  at  home,  abroad, 
Still  we  are  guarded  by  our  God. 

As  this  last  couplet  stood — and  ought  now  to 
Stand — pious  parents  teaching  the  hymn  to  their 
children  heard  them  repeat — 

By  day,  by  night,  at  home,  abroad. 
We  are  surrounded  still  with  God. 

Many  are  now  living  whose  first  impressive 
sense  of  the  Divine  Omnipresence  came  with  that 
line. 


PARTING, 


"GOD  BE  WITH  YOU  TILL  WE  MEET  AGAIN." 

A  lyric  of  benediction,  born,  apparently,  at  the 
divine  moment  for  the  need  of  the  great  "  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor,"  and  now  adopted  into  the 
Christian  song-service  of  all  lands.  The  author, 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Eames  Rankin,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was 
born  in  Thornton,  N.  H.,  Jan.  2,  1828.  He  was 
graduated  at  Middlebury  College,  Vt.,  in  1848, 
and  labored  as    a    Congregational    pastor   more 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         497 

than  thirty  years.  For  thirteen  years  he  was 
President  of  Howard  University,  Washington, 
D.C.  Besides  the  "Parting  Hymn"  he  wrote  The 
Auld  Scotch  Mtther,  Ingleside  Rhymes,  Hymns 
pro  P atria,  and  various  practical  works  and  rehg- 
ious  essays.    Died  1904. 

THE   TUNE. 

As  in  a  thousand  other  partnerships  of  hymnist 
and  musician,  Dr.  Rankin  was  fortunate  in  his 
composer.  The  tune  is  a  symphony  of  hearts — 
subdued  at  first,  but  breaking  into  a  chorus  strong 
with  the  upHft  of  hope.  It  is  a  farewell  with  a 
spiritual  thrill  in  it. 

Its  author,  William  Gould  Tomer,  was  born  in 
Finesville,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  October  5,  1832; 
died  in  Phillipsburg,  N.  J.,  Sept.  26,  1896.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War  and  a  writer  of  good 
ability  as  well  as  a  composer.  For  some  time  he 
was  editor  of  the  High  Bridge  Gazette,  and  music 
with  him  was  an  avocation  rather  than  a  pro- 
fession. He  wrote  the  melody  to  Dr.  Rankin's 
hymn  in  1880,  Prof.  J.  W.  BischofF  supplying  the 
harmony,  and  the  tune  was  first  published  in 
Gospel  Bells  the  same  year. 


FUNERALS, 


The  style  of  singing  at  funerals,  as  well  as  the 
character  of  the  hymns,  has  greatly  changed — if, 


49^  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

indeed,  music  continues  to  be  a  part  of  the  service, 
as  frequently,  in  ordinary  cases,  it  is  not.  "  China  " 
with  its  comforting  words — and  terrifying  chords — 
is  forever  obsolete,  and  not  only  that,  but  Dr. 
Muhlenberg's,  *'I  Would  Not  Live  Alway,"  with  its 
sadly  sentimental  tune  of  "Frederick,"  has  passed 
out  of  common  use.  Anna  Steele's  "So  Fades  the 
Lovely,  Blooming  Flower,"  on  the  death  of  a  child, 
is  occasionally  heard,  and  now  and  then  Dr.  S.  F. 
Smith's,  "Sister,  Thou  Wast  Mild  and  Lovely," 
(with  its  gentle  air  of  "Mt.  Vernon,")  on  the  death 
of  a  young  lady.  Standard  hymns  like  Watts', 
"Unveil  Thy  Bosom,  Faithful  Tomb,"  to  the  slow, 
tender  melody  of  the  "  Dead  March,"  (from  Han- 
del's oratorio  of  "Saul")  and  Montgomery's 
"Servant  of  God,  Well  Done,"  to  "Olmutz,"  or 
Woodbury's  "Forever  with  the  Lord,"  still  retain 
their  prestige,  the  music  of  the  former  being 
played  on  steeple-chimes  on  some  burial  occasions 
in  cities,  during  the  procession — 

Nor  pain  nor  grief  nor  anxious  fear 
Invade  thy  bounds;    no  mortal  woes 

Can  reach  the  peaceful  sleeper  here 
While  angels  watch  the  soft  repose. 

The  latter  hymn  (Montgomery's)  is  biographi- 
cal— as  described  on  page  301 — 

Servant  of  God,  well  done; 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  vict'ry  won, 

Enter  thy  Master's  joy. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         499 

Only  five  stanzas  of  this  long  poem  are  now  in 
use. 

The  exquisite  elegy  of  Montgomery,  entitled 
**The  Grave," — 

There  is  a  calm  for  those  who  weep, 

A  rest  for  weary  mortals  found 
They  softly  lie  and  sweetly  sleep 

Low  in  the  ground. 

— is  by  no  means  discontinued  on  funeral  occasions, 
nor  Margaret  Mackay's  beloved  hymn, — 

Asleep  in  Jesus,  blessed  sleep, 

— melodized  in  Bradbury's  "Rest." 

Mrs.  Margaret  Mackay  v^as  born  in  1801,  the 
daughter  of  Capt.  Robert  Mackay  of  Hedgefield, 
Inverness,  and  v^ife  of  a  major  of  the  same  name. 
She  v^as  the  author  of  several  prose  works  and 
Lays  of  Leisure  Hours,  containing  seventy-two 
original  hymns  and  poems,  of  which  "Asleep  in 
Jesus"  is  one.    She  died  in  1887. 

"MY  JESUS,  AS  THOU  WILT. " 

{Mein  'JesUy  ivte  du  iviUst.) 

This  sweet  hymn  for  mourners,  known  to  us 
here  in  Jane  Borthwick's  translation,  was  written 
by  Benjamin  Schmolke  (or  Schmolk)  late  in  the 
17th  century.  He  was  born  at  Brauchitzchdorf, 
in  Silesia,  Dec.  21,  1672,  and  received  his  educa- 
tion at  the  Labau  Gymnasium  and  Leipsic  Uni- 
versity.   A  sermon  preached  while  a  youth,  for  his 


500  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

father,  a  Lutheran  pastor,  showed  such  remark- 
able promise  that  a  wealthy  man  paid  the  expenses 
of  his  education  for  the  ministry.  He  was  ordained 
and  settled  as  pastor  of  the  Free  Church  at 
Schweidnitz,  Silesia,  in  which  charge  he  continued 
from  1 70 1  till  his  death. 

Schmolke  was  the  most  popular  hymn-writer  of 
his  time,  author  of  some  nine  hundred  church 
pieces,  besides  many  for  special  occasions.  Withal 
he  was  a  man  of  exalted  piety  and  a  pastor  of  rare 
wisdom  and  influence. 

His  death,  of  paralysis,  occurred  on  the  anniver- 
sary of  his  wedding,  Feb.  12,  1737. 

My  Jesus,  as  Thou  wilt, 

Oh  may  Thy  will  be  mine! 
Into  Thy  hand  of  love 

I  would  my  all  resign. 
Thro*  sorrow  or  thro'  joy 

Conduct  me  as  Thine  own. 
And  help  me  still  to  say, 

My  Lord,  Thy  will  be  done. 

The  last  line  is  the  refrain  of  the  hymn  of  four 
eight-line  stanzas. 

THE   TUNE. 

"  Sussex,"  by  Joseph  Bamby,  a  plain-song  with 
a  fine  harmony,  is  good  congregational  music  for 
the  hymn. 

But  "  Jewett,"  one  of  Carl  Maria  Von  Weber's 
exquisite  flights  of  song,  is  like  no  other  in  its 
intimate    interpretation    of  the    prayerful   words. 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         5OI 

We  hear  Luther's  "bird  in  the  heart"  singing 
softly  in  every  inflection  of  the  tender  melody  as  it 
glides  on.  The  tune,  arranged  by  Joseph  Hol- 
brook,  is  from  an  opera — the  overture  to  Weber's 
Der  Freischiitz — but  one  feels  that  the  gentle 
musician  when  he  wrote  it  must  have  caught  an 
inspiration  of  divine  trust  and  peace.  The  wish 
among  the  last  words  he  uttered  when  dying  in 
London  of  slow  disease  was,  "Let  me  go  back 
to  my  own  (home),  and  then  God's  will  be  done." 
That  wish  and  the  sentiment  of  Schmolke's  hymn 
belong  to  each  other,  for  they  end  in  the  same 
way. 

My  Jesus,  as  Thou  wilt: 

All  shall  be  well  for  me; 
Each  changing  future  scene 

I  gladly  trust  with  Thee. 
Straight  to  my  home  above 

I  travel  calmly  on, 
And  sing  in  life  or  death 

My  Lord,  Thy  will  be  done. 

"I  CANNOT  ALWAYS  TRACE  THE  WAY." 

In  later  years,  when  funeral  music  is  desired, 
the  employment  of  a  male  quartette  has  become  a 
favorite  custom.  Of  the  selections  sung  in  this 
manner  few  are  more  suitable  or  more  generally 
welcomed  than  the  tender  and  trustful  hymn  of 
Sir  John  Bowring,  rendered  sometimes  in  Dr. 
Dykes'  "Almsgiving,"  but  better  in  the  less-known 
but  more  flexible  tune  composed  by  Howard  M. 
Dow — 


502         STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

I  cannot  always  trace  the  way 

Where  Thou,  Almighty  One,  dost  move. 

But  I  can  always,  always  say 
That  God  is  love. 

When  fear  her  chilling  mantle  flings 
O'er  earth,  my  soul  to  heaven  above 

As  to  her  native  home  upsprings, 
For  God  is  love. 

When  mystery  clouds  my  darkened  path, 
I'll  check  my  dread,  my  doubts  reprove; 

In  this  my  soul  sweet  comfort  hath 
That  God  is  love. 

Yes,  God  is  love.  A  thought  like  this 

Can  every  gloomy  thought  remove, 
And  turn  all  tears,  all  woes  to  bliss 

For  God  is  love. 

The  first  line  of  the  hymn  was  originally,  "'Tis 
seldom  I  can  trace  the  way." 

Howard  M.  Dow  has  been  many  years  a  resident 
of  Boston,  and  organist  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Freemasons  at  the  Tremont  St.  (Masonic)  Temple. 


WEDDING. 


Time  was  when  hymns  were  sung  at  weddings, 
though  in  America  the  practice  was  never  uni- 
versal. Marriage,  among  Protestants,  is  not  one 
of  the  sacraments,  and  no  masses  are  chanted  for 
it  by  ecclesiastical  ordinance.  The  question  of 
music  at  private  marriages  depends  on  conven- 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         5O3 

lence,  vocal  or  instrumental  equipment,  and  the 
general  drift  of  the  occasion.  At  public  weddings 
the  organ's  duty  is  the  "Wedding  March." 

To  revive  a  fashion  of  singing  at  home  marriages 
would  be  considered  an  oddity — and,  where  civil 
marriages  are  legal,  a  superfluity — but  in  the 
religious  ceremony,  just  after  the  prayer  that 
follows  the  completion  of  the  nuptial  formula,  it 
will  occur  to  some  that  a  hymn  would  "tide  over" 
a  proverbially  awkward  moment.  Even  good, 
quaint  old  John  Berridge's  lines  would  happily 
relieve  the  embarrassment — besides  reminding  the 
more  thoughtless  that  a  wedding  is  not  a  mere 
piece  of  social  fun — 

Since  Jesus  truly  did  appear 

To  grace  a  marriage  feast 
O  Lord,  we  ask  Thy  presence  here 

To  make  a  wedding  guest. 

Upon  the  bridal  pair  look  down 
Who  now  have  pHghted  hands; 

Their  union  with  Thy  favor  crown 
And  bless  the  nuptial  bands 

4:     *     4:     *     *     * 

In  purest  love  these  souls  unite 

That  they  with  Christian  care 
May  make  domestic  burdens  light 

By  taking  each  a  share. 

Tune,  "Lanesboro,"  Mason. 

A  wedding  hymn  of  more  poetic  beauty  is  the 
one  written  by  Miss  Dorothy  Bloomfield  (now  Mrs. 
Gurney),  born  1858,  for  her  sister's  marriage  in 

1883. 


504         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS   AND   TUNES. 

O  perfect  Love,  all  human  thought  transcending, 
Lowly  we  kneel  in  prayer  before  Thy  throne 

That  their's  may  be  a  love  which  knows  no  ending 
Whom  Thou  forevermore  dost  join  in  one. 

O  perfect  Life,  be  Thou  their  first  assurance 
Of  tender  charity  and  steadfast  faith, 

Of  patient  hope  and  quiet,  brave  endurance. 

With  childlike  trust  that  fears  nor  pain  nor  death. 

Grant  them  the  joy  which  brightens  earthly  sorrow. 
Grant  them  the  peace  which  calms  all  earthly  strife. 

And  to  their  day  the  glorious  unknown  morrow 
That  dawns  upon  eternal  love  and  life. 

Tune  by  Joseph  Barnby,  *'  O  Perfect  Love." 


FRUITION  DAT. 


"LO!  HE  COMES  WITH  CLOUDS  DESCENDING." 

Thomas  Olivers  begins  one  of  his  hymns  with 
this  line.  The  hymn  is  a  Judgment-day  lyric  of 
rude  strength  and  once  in  current  use,  but  now 
rarely  printed.  The  "Lo  He  Comes,"  here  spec- 
ially noted,  is  the  production  of  John  Cennick,  the 
Moravian. 

Lo!  He  comes  with  clouds  descending 

Once  for  favored  sinners  slain. 

Thousand  thousand  saints  attending 

Swell  the  triumph  of  His  train. 

Hallelujah  I 

God  appears  on  earth  to  reign. 

>|c     :(:     t     "Ic     ♦    tc     "t" 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         505 

Yea,  amen;  let  all  adore  Thee 
High  on  Thy  eternal  throne. 

Saviour,  take  the  power  and  glory. 
Claim  the  kingdom  for  thine  own; 
O  come  quickly; 

Hallelujah!  Come,  Lord,  come. 

THE  TUNES. 

Various  composers  have  v^ritten  music  to  this 
universal  hymn,  but  none  has  given  it  a  choral 
that  it  can  claim  as  peculiarly  its  own.  "Brest," 
Lov^ell  Mason's  plain-song,  has  a  limited  range, 
and  runs  low  on  the  staff,  but  its  solemn  chords  are 
musical  and  commanding.  As  much  can  be  said 
of  the  tunes  of  Dr.  Dykes  and  Samuel  Webbe, 
which  have  more  variety.  Those  who  feel  that  the 
hymn  calls  for  a  more  ornate  melody  will  prefer 
Madan's"Helmsley." 

"LP!  WHAT  A  GLORIOUS  SIGHT  APPEARS." 

The  great  Southampton  bard  who  wrote 
"Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood"  was 
quick  to  kindle  at  every  reminder  of  Fruition  Day. 

Lo!  what  a  glorious  sight  appears 

To  our  believing  eyes! 
The  earth  and  seas  are  passed  away, 

And  the  old  rolling  skies. 
From  the  third  heaven,  where  God  resides, 

That  holy,  happy  place. 
The  New  Jerusalem  comes  down. 

Adorned  with  shining  grace. 


5o6 


STORY    OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 


This  hymn  of  Watts*  sings  one  of  his  most  exalted 
visions.  It  has  been  dear  for  two  hundred  years 
to  every  Christian  soul  throbbing  with  millennial 
thoughts  and  wishful  of  the  day  when — 

The  God  of  glory  down  to  men 
Removes  His  best  abode, 

— and  when — 

His  own  kind  hand  shall  wipe  the  tears 

From  every  weeping  eye. 
And  pains  and  groans,  and  griefs  and  fears, 

And  death  itself  shall  die, 

■ — and  the  yearning  cry  of  the  last  stanza,  when  the 
vision  fades,  has  been  the  household  ^  of  myriads  of 
burdened  and  sorrowing  saints — 

How  long,  dear  Saviour,  O  how  long 

Shall  this  bright  hour  delay  ? 
Fly  swifter  round  ye  wheels  of  Time, 

And  bring  the  welcome  day! 


THE   TUNES. 

By  right  of  long  appropriation  both  "North- 
field"  and  "New  Jerusalem"  own  a  near  relation- 
ship to  these  glorious  verses.  Ingalls,  one  of  the 
constellation  of  early  Puritan  psalmodists,  to  which 
Billings  and  Sw^an  belonged,  evidently  loved  the 
hymn,  and  composed  his  "New  Jerusalem"  to  the 
verse,  "From  the  third  heaven,"  and  his  "North- 
field"  to  "How  long,  dear  Saviour."  The  former 
is  now  sung  only  as  a  reminiscence  of  the  music  of 
the  past,  at  church  festivals,  charity  fairs  and  enter- 


HYMNS,    FESTIVAL    AND    OCCASIONAL.         507 

tainments  of  similar  design,  but  the  action  and 
hearty  joy  in  it  always  evoke  sympathetic 
applause.  "Northfield"  is  still  in  occasional 
use,  and  it  is  a  jewel  of  melody,  however  irre- 
trievably out  of  fashion.  Its  union  to  that  im- 
mortal stanza,  if  no  other  reason,  seems  likely  to 
insure  its  permanent  place  in  the  lists  of  sacred 
song. 

John  Cole's  "Annapolis,"  still  found  in  a  few 
hymnals  with  these  words,  is  a  little  too  late  to  be 
called  a  contemporary  piece,  but  there  are  some 
reminders  of  Ingalls  "New  Jerusalem"  in  its  style 
and  vigor,  and  it  really  partakes  the  flavor  of  the 
old  New  England  church  music. 

Jeremiah  Ingalls  was  born  in  Andover,  Mass., 
March.  I,  1764.  A  natural  fondness  for  music  in- 
creased with  his  years,  but  opportunities  to  educate 
it  were  few  and  far  between,  and  he  seemed  like 
to  become  no  more  than  a  fairly  good  bass-viol 
player  in  the  village  choir.  But  his  determination 
carried  him  higher,  and  in  time  his  self-taught 
talent  qualified  him  for  a  singing-school  master, 
and  for  many  years  he  travelled  through  Massa- 
chusetts, New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  training 
the  raw  vocal  material  in  the  country  towns,  and 
organizing  choirs. 

Between  his  thirtieth  and  fortieth  years,  he  com- 
posed a  number  of  tunes,  and,  in  1804  published 
a  two  hundred  page  collection  of  his  own  and 
others'  music,  which  he  called  the  Christian 
Harmony. 


508  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

His  home  was  for  some  time  in  Newberry,  Vt., 
but  he  subsequently  lived  at  Rochester  and  at 
Hancock  in  the  same  state. 

Among  the  traditions  of  him  is  this  anecdote  of 
the  origin  of  his  famous  tune  "Northfield,"  which 
may  indicate  something  of  his  temper  and  religious 
habit.  During  his  travels  as  a  singing-school 
teacher  he  stopped  at  a  tavern  in  the  town  of 
Northfield  and  ordered  his  dinner.  It  was  very 
slow  in  coming,  but  the  inevitable  "how  long.^" 
that  formulated  itself  in  his  hungry  thoughts,  in- 
stead of  sharpening  into  profane  complaint,  fell  into 
the  rhythm  of  Watts'  sacred  line — and  the  tune 
came  with  it.  To  call  it  "Northfield"  was  natural 
enough;  the  place  where  its  melody  first  beguiled 
him  from  his  bodily  wants  to  a  dream  of  the  final 
Fruition  Day. 

Ingalls  died  in  Hancock,  Vt.,  April  6,  1828. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


HYMNS  OF   HOPE  AND   CON- 
SOLATION. 


"JERUSALEM  THE  GOLDEN." 

Urhs  Sion  Aurea. 

"The  Seven  Great  Hymns'' of  the  Latin  Church 
are: 

Laus  Patriae  Coelestis, — (Praise  of  the  Heavenly  Country). 

Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus, — (Come,  Holy  Spirit) 

Veni,  Creator  Spiritus, — (Come,  Creator  Spirit) 

Dies  Irae, — (The  Day  of  Wrath) 

Stabat  Mater, — (The  Mother  Stood  By) 

Mater  Speciosa, — (The  Fair  Mother.) 

Vexilla  Regis. — (The  Banner  of  the  King.) 

Chief  of  these  is  the  first  named,  though  that  is 
but  part  of  a  religious  poem  of  three  thousand  lines, 
which  the  author,  Bernard  of  Cluny,  named  "De 
Contemptu  Mundi''  (Concerning  Disdain  of  the 
World.) 

Bernard  was  of  English  parentage,  though  born 
at  Morlaix,  a  seaport  town  in  the  north  of  France. 

(509) 


5IO         STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

The  exact  date  of  his  birth  is  unknown,  though  it 
was  probably  about  A.  D.  i  lOO.  He  is  called  Ber- 
nard of  Cluny  because  he  lived  and  wrote  at  that 
place,  a  French  town  on  the  Grone  where  he  was 
abbot  of  a  famous  monastery,  and  also  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  Bernard  of  Clairvaux. 

His  great  poem  is  rarely  spoken  of  as  a  whole, 
but  in  three  portions,  as  if  each  were  a  complete 
work.  The  first  is  the  long  exordium,  exhausting 
the  pessimistic  title  (contempt  of  the  world),  and 
passing  on  to  the  second,  where  begins  the  real 
"  Laus  Patriae  Coelestis."  This  being  cut  in  two, 
making  a  third  portion,  has  enriched  the  Christian 
world  with  two  of  its  best  hymns,  *Tor  Thee,  O 
Dear,  Dear  Country,  "and  "Jerusalem  the  Golden.'* 

Bernard  wrote  the  medieval  or  church  Latin  in 
Its  prime  of  literary  refinement,  and  its  accent  is  so 
obvious  and  its  rhythm  so  musical  that  even  one 
ignorant  of  the  language  could  pronounce  it,  and 
catch  its  rhymes.  The  "  Contemptu  Mundi "  begins 
with  these  two  lines,  in  a  hexameter  impossible 
to  copy  in  translation: 

Hora  novissima;  tempora  pessima  sunt;  Vigilemus! 
Ecce  minaciter  imminet  Arbiter,  Ille  Supremus! 

'Tisthe  last  hour;  the  times  are  at  their  worst; 

Watch;  lo  the  Judge  Supreme  stands  threat'ning  nigh! 

Or,  as  Dr.  Neale  paraphrases  and  softens  it, — 

The  World  is  very  evil, 
The  times  are  waxing  late, 

Be  sober  and  keep  vigil, 
The  Judge  is  at  the  gate, 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.         5II 

— and,  after  the  poet's  long,  dark  diorama  of  the 
world's  wicked  condition,  follows  the  "  Praise  of  the 
Heavenly  Fatherland,"  when  a  tender  glory  dawns 
upon  the  scene  till  it  breaks  into  sunrise  with  the 
vision  of  the  Golden  City.  All  that  an  opulent  and 
devout  imagination  can  picture  of  the  beauty  and 
bounty  of  heaven,  and  all  that  faith  can  construct 
from  the  glimpses  in  the  Revelation  of  its  glory 
and  happiness  is  poured  forth  in  the  lavish  poetry 
of  the  inspired  monk  of  Cluny — 

Urbs  Sion  aurea,  patria  lactea,  cive  decora, 
Omne  cor  obruis,  omnibus  obstruis,  et  cor  et  ora. 
Nescio,  nescio  quae  jubilatio  lux  tibi  qualis, 
Quam  socialia  gaudia,  gloria  quam  specialis. 

Jerusalem,  the  golden; 

With  milk  and  honey  blest; 
Beneath  thy  contemplation 

Sink  heart  and  voice  opprest. 
I  know  not,  O  I  know  not 

What  joys  await  us  there, 
With  radiancy  of  glory, 

With  bliss  beyond  compare. 

They  stand,  those  halls  of  Zion, 

All  jubilant  with  song,* 
And  bright  with  many  an  angel, 

And  all  the  martyr  throng. 
The  Prince  is  ever  in  them, 

The  daylight  is  serene; 
The  pastures  of  the  blessed 

Are  decked  in  glorious  sheen. 

*In  first  editions,  *'' con  jubilant  with  song." 


512         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

O  sweet  and  blessed  country, 

The  home  of  God's  elect! 
O  sweet  and  blessed  country, 

That  eager  hearts  expect! 
Jesu,  in  mercy  bring  us 

To  that  dear  land  of  rest, 
Who  art,  with  God  the  Father, 

And  Spirit,  ever  blest. 

Dr.  John  Mason  Neale,  the  translator,  was 
obliged  to  condense  Bernard's  exuberant  verse, 
and  he  has  done  so  with  unsurpassable  grace  and 
melody.  He  made  his  translation  while  "inhi- 
bited" from  his  priestly  functions  in  the  Church  of 
England  for  his  high  ritualistic  views  and  practice, 
and  so  poor  that  he  wrote  stories  for  children  to 
earn  his  living.  His  poverty  added  to  the  wealth 
of  Christendom. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  music  of  "Jerusalem  the  Golden"  used  in 
most  churches  is  the  composition  of  Alexander 
Ewing,  a  paymaster  in  the  English  army.  He  was 
born  in  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  Jan.  3d,  1830,  and 
educated  there  at  Marischal  College.  The  tune 
bears  his  name,  and  this  honor,  and  its  general 
favor  with  the  public,  are  so  much  testimony  to  its 
merit.  It  is  a  stately  harmony  in  D  major  with 
sonorous  and  impressive  chords.  Ewing  died  in  1895. 

"WHY  SHOULD  WE  START  AND  FEAR  TO  DIE  ?" 

Probably  it  is  an  embarrassment  of  riches  and 
despair  of  space  that  have  crowded  this  hymn — 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        513 

perhaps  the  sweetest  that  Watts  ever  wrote — out  of 
some  of  our  church  singing-books.  It  is  pleasant 
to  find  it  in  the  new  Methodist  Hymnal,  though 
with  an  indifferent  tune. 

Christians  of  today  should  surely  sing  the  last 
two  stanzas  with  the  same  exalted  joy  and  hope 
that  made  them  sacred  to  pious  generations  past 
and  gone — 

O  if  my  Lord  would  come  and  meet, 

My  soul  would  stretch  her  wings  in  haste, 
Fly  fearless  through  death's  iron  gate, 

Nor  feel  the  terrors  as  she  passed. 
Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 
While  on  His  breast  I  lean  my  head 

And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there. 

THE    TUNE. 

The  plain-music  of  William  Boyd*s  'Pentecost/' 
(with  modulations  in  the  tenor),  creates  a  new 
accent  for  the  familiar  lines.  Preferable  in  every 
sense  are  Bradbury's  tender" Zephyr"  or  "Rest." 

No  coming  generation  will  ever  feel  the  pious 
gladness  of  Amariah  Hall's  "All  Saints  New"  in 
E  flat  major  as  it  stirred  the  Christian  choirs  of 
seventy  five  years  ago.  Fitted  to  this  heart-felt 
lyric  of  Watts,  it  opened  with  the  words — 

O  if  my  Lord  would  come  and  meet, 

in  full  harmony  and  four-four  time,  continuing  to 
the  end  of  the  stanza.  The  melody,  with  its  slurred 
syllables   and  beautiful  modulations  was  almost 


514         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

blithe  in  its  brightness,  while  the  strong  musical 
bass  and  the  striking  chords  of  the  "counter," 
chastened  it  and  held  the  anthem  to  its  due  solem- 
nity of  tone  and  expression.  Then  the  fugue  took 
up— 

Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed, 

— bass,  treble  and  tenor  adding  voice  after  voice  in 
the  manner  of  the  old  "canon"  song,  and  the  full 
harmony  again  carried  the  v^ords,  v^ith  loving 
repetitions,  to  the  final  bar.  The  music  closed  v^ith 
a  minor  concord  that  was  strangely  effective  and 
sweet. 

Amariah  Hall  was  born  in  Raynham,  Mass., 
April  28,  1785,  and  died  there  Feb.  8,  1827.  He 
"farmed  it,"  manufactured  straw-bonnets,  kept 
tavern  and  taught  singing-school.  Music  was  only 
an  avocation  with  him,  but  he  was  an  artist  in  his 
way,  and  among  his  compositions  are  found  in 
some  ancient  Tune  books  his  "Morning  Glory," 
"Canaan,"  "Falmouth,"  "Restoration,"  "Mas- 
sachusetts," "Raynham,"  "Crucifixion,"  "Har- 
mony," "Devotion,"  "Zion,"  and  "Hosanna." 

"All  Saints  New"  was  his  masterpiece. 

"WHEN  I  CAN  READ  MY  TITLE  CLEAR." 

No  sacred  song  has  been  more  profanely  paro- 
died by  the  thoughtless,  or  more  travestied,  (if  we 
may  use  so  strong  a  word),  in  popular  religious 
airs,  than  this  golden  hymn  which  has  made  Isaac 
Watts  a  benefactor  to  every  prisoner  of  hope.    Not 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        515 

to  mention  the  fancy  figures  and  refrains  of  camp- 
meeting  music,  which  have  cheapened  it,  neither 
John  Cole's  "AnnapoHs"  nor  Arne's  "Arlington" 
nor  a  dozen  others  that  have  borrov^ed  these  speak- 
ing lines,  can  wear  out  their  association  with  "  Auld 
lang  Syne.''  The  hymn  has  permeated  the  tune, 
and,  without  forgetting  its  own  words,  the  Scotch 
melody  preforms  both  a  social  and  religious  mis- 
sion. Some  arrangements  of  it  make  it  needlessly 
repetitious,  but  its  pathos  will  always  best  vocalize 
the  hymn,  especially  the  first  and  last  stanzas — 

When  I  can  read  my  title  clear 

To  mansions  in  the  skies 
I'll  bid  farewell  to  every  fear 

And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes. 

:4c     4:     *     4c    *    4: 

There  shall  I  bathe  my  weary  soul 

In  seas  of  heavenly  rest, 
And  not  a  wave  of  trouble  roll 

Across  my  peaceful  breast. 

"VITAL  SPARK  OF  HEAVENLY  FLAME." 

This  paraphrase,  by  Alexander  Pope,  of  the 
Emperor  Adrian's  death-bed  address  to  his  soul — 

Animula,  vagula,  blandula, 
Hospes,  comesque  corporis, 

— transfers  the  poetry  and  constructs  a  hymnic 
theme. 

An  old  hymn  writer  by  the  name  of  Flatman 
wrote  a  Pindaric,  somewhat  similar  to  "Adrian's 
Address,"  as  follows: 


5i6 


STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 


When  on  my  sick-bed  I  languish, 
Full  of  sorrow,  full  of  anguish, 
Fainting,  gasping,  trembling,  crying, 
Panting,  groaning,  speechless,  dying; 
Methinks  I  hear  some  gentle  spirit  say, 
"Be  not  fearful,  come  away." 

Pope  combined  these  two  poems  with  the  words 
of  Divine  inspiration,  "O  death,  where  is  thy 
sting  ?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?'*  and  made 
a  pagan  philosopher's  question  the  text  for  a  tri- 
umphant Christian  anthem  of  hope. 

Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame. 
Quit,  oh  quit  this  mortal  frame. 
Trembling,  hoping,  ling'ring,  flying, 
Oh  the  pain,  the  bliss  of  dying! 
Cease,  fond  nature,  cease  thy  strife, 
And  let  me  languish  into  life. 

Hark!  they  whisper:  angels  say, 
* 'Sister  spirit,  come  away!" 
What  is  this  absorbs  me  quite. 
Steals  my  senses,  shuts  my  sight. 
Drowns  my  spirit,  draws  my  breath. 
Tell  me,  my  soul,  can  this  be  death  .? 

The  world  recedes:  it  disappears: 
Heaven  opens  on  my  eyes;  my  ears 

With  sounds  seraphic  ring. 
Lend,  lend  your  wings!  I  mount!  I  fly! 
O  grave  where  is  thy  victory  .? 

O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 


THE   TUNE. 


The  old  anthem, "  The  Dying  Christian,"  or  "The 
Dying  Christian  to  his  Soul,"  which  first  made  this 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        517 

lyric  familiar  in  America  as  a  musical  piece,  will 
never  be  sung  again  except  at  antique  entertain- 
ments, but  it  had  an  importance  in  its  day. 

Beginning  in  quadruple  time  on  four  flats  minor, 
it  renders  the  first  stanza  in  flowing  concords  largo 
aff'ettuoso,  and  a  single  bass  fugue.  Then  suddenly 
shifting  to  one  flat,  major,  duple  time,  it  executes 
the  second  stanza,  "Hark!  they  whisper"....*' What 
is  this,  etc.,"  in  alternate  pianissimo  and  forte 
phrases;  and  finally,  changing  to  triple  time,  sings 
the  third  triumphant  stanza,  andante,  through 
staccato  and  fortissimo.  The  shout  in  the  last 
adagio,  on  the  four  final  bars, "  O  Death !  O  Death ! " 
softening  with  "where  is  thy  sting  V'  is  quite  in  the 
style  of  old  orchestral  magnificence. 

Since  "The  Dying  Christian"  ceased  to  appear 
in  church  music,  the  poem,  for  some  reason,  seems 
not  to  have  been  recognized  as  a  hymn.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  Christian  poem,  and  a  true  lyric  of  hope  and 
consolation,  whatever  the  character  of  the  author 
or  however  pagan  the  original  that  suggested  it. 

The  most  that  is  now  known  of  Edward  Har- 
wood,  the  composer  of  the  anthem,  is  that  he 
was  an  EngHsh  musician  and  psalmodist,  born  near 
Blackburn,  Lancaster  Co.,  1707,  and  died  about 
1787. 

"YOUR  HARPS,  YE  TREMBLING  SAINTS." 

This  hymn  of  Toplady, — unlike  "A  Debtor  to 
Mercy  Alone,  "and  "Inspirer  and  Hearer  of  Pray- 
er," both  now  little  used, — stirs  no  controversial 


5l8         STORY   OF  THE    HYMNS   AND   TUNES. 

feeling  by  a  single  line  of  his  aggressive  Calvinism. 
It  is  simply  a  song  of  Christian  gratitude  and  joy. 

Your  harps,  ye  trembling  saints 
Down  from  the  willows  take; 

Loud  to  the  praise  of  Love  Divine 
Bid  every  string  awake. 

Though  in  a  foreign  land, 

We  are  not  far  from  home, 
And  nearer  to  our  house  above 

We  every  moment  come. 

:4c     :4c     4c     :(c     :|c     :4c 

Blest  is  the  man,  O  God, 

That  stays  himself  on  Thee, 
Who  waits  for  Thy  salvation.  Lord, 

Shall  Thy  salvation  see, 

THE   TUNE. 

"Olmutz"  was  arranged  by  Lowell  Mason  from 
a  Gregorian  chant.  He  set  it  himself  to  Toplady's 
hymn,  and  it  seems  the  natural  music  for  it.  The 
words  are  also  sometimes  written  and  sung  to  Jona- 
than Woodman's  "State  St." 

Jonathan  Call  Woodman  was  born  in  New- 
buryport,  Mass.,  July  I2,  1813.  He  was  the  organ- 
ist of  St.  George's  Chapel,  Flushing  L.I.  and  a 
teacher,  composer  and  compiler.  His  Musical 
Casket  was  not  issued  until  Dec.  1858,  but  he 
wrote  the  tune  of  "State  St."  in  August,  1844.  It 
was  a  contribution  to  Bradbury's  Psalmodist,  which 
was  published  the  same  year. 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        519 
"YE   GOLDEN   LAMPS   OF   HEAVEN,   FAREWELL." 

Dr.  Doddridge's  "farewell"  is  not  a  note  of  re- 
gret. Unlike  Bernard,  he  appreciates  this  world 
while  he  anticipates  the  better  one,  but  his  con- 
templation climbs  from  God's  footstool  to  His 
throne.  His  thought  is  in  the  last  two  lines  of  the 
second  stanza,  where  he  takes  leave  of  the  sun — 

My  soul  that  springs  beyond  thy  sphere 
No  more  demands  thine  aid. 

But  his  fancy  will  find  a  function  for  the  "golden 
lamps"  even  in  the  glory  that  swallows  up  their 
light— 

Ye  stars  are  but  the  shining  dust 

Of  my  divine  abode, 
The  pavement  of  those  heavenly  courts 
Where  I  shall  dwell  with  God. 

The  Father  of  eternal  light 

Shall  there  His  beams  display, 
Nor  shall  one  moment's  darkness  mix 

With  that  unvaried  day. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  hymn  has  been  assigned  to"  Mt.  Auburn," 
a  composition  of  George  Kingsley,  but  a  far  better 
interpretation — if  not  best  of  all — is  H.K.Oliver's 
tune  of  "Merton,"  (1847,)  older,  but  written  pur- 
posely for  the  words. 

"TRIUMPHANT  ZION,  LIFT  THY  HEAD." 

This  fine  and  stimulating  lyric  is  Doddridge  in 
another  tone.     Instead  of  singing  hope  to  the  in- 


520         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

dividual,  he  sounds  a  note  of  encouragement  to  the 
church. 

Put  all  thy  beauteous  garments  on. 

And  let  thy  excellence  be  known; 

Decked  in  the  robes  of  righteousness, 

The  world  thy  glories  shall  confess. 

:|c     *     :(c     :(c     :|c     :^ 

God  from  on  high  has  heard  thy  prayer; 
His  hand  thy  ruins  shall  repair. 
Nor  will  thy  watchful  Monarch  cease 
To  guard  thee  in  eternal  peace. 

The  tune,  "Anvem,''  is  one  of  Mason's  charm- 
ing melodies,  full  of  vigor  and  cheerful  life,  and 
everything  can  be  said  of  it  that  is  said  of  the 
hymn.  Duffield  compares  the  hymn  and  tune  to  a 
ring  and  its  jev^el. 

It  is  one  of  the  inevitable  freaks  of  taste  that  puts 
so  choice  a  strain  of  psalmody  out  of  fashion. 
Many  younger  pieces  in  the  church  manuals  could 
be  better  spared. 

"SHRINKING  FROM  THE  COLD  HAND  OF  DEATH." 

This  is  a  hymn  of  contrast,  the  dark  of  recoiling 
nature  making  the  background  of  the  rainbov^. 
Written  by  Charles  Wesley,  it  has  passed  among 
his  forgotten  or  mostly  forgotten  productions  but 
is  notable  for  the  frequent  use  of  its  3rd  stanza  by 
his  brother  John.  John  Wesley,  in  his  old  age,  did 
not  so  much  shrink  from  death  as  from  the  thought 
of  its  too  slow  approach.  His  almost  constant 
prayer  v^as,  "  Lord,  let  me  not  live  to  be  useless. " 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        52I 

"  At  every  place,  **  says  Belcher,  "  after  giving  to  his 
societies  what  he  desired  them  to  consider  his  last 
advice,  he  invariably  concluded  with  the  stanza  be- 
ginning— 

**  *Oh  that,  without  a  lingering  groan, 
I  may  the  welcome  word  receive. 
My  body  with  my  charge  lay  down. 
And  cease  at  once  to  work  and  live.'  " 

The  anticipation  of  death  itself  by  both  the  great 
evangelists  ended  like  the  ending  of  the  hymn — 

No  anxious  doubt,  no  guilty  gloom 

Shall  daunt  whom  Jesus'  presence  cheers; 

My  Light,  my  Life,  my  God  is  come, 
And  glory  in  His  face  appears. 

"FOREVER  WITH  THE  LORD." 


Montgomery  had  the  Ambrosian  gift  of  spiritual 
song-writing.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  his 
more  ambitious  descriptive  or  heroic  pages  of 
verse,  and  his  long  narrative  poems,  his  lyrics  and 
cabinet  pieces  are  gems.  The  poetry  in  some 
exquisite  stanzas  of  his  "Grave"  is  a  dream  of 
peace : 

There  is  a  calm  for  those  who  weep, 

A  rest  for  weary  mortals  found; 
They  softly  lie  and  sweetly  sleep 
Low  in  the  ground. 

The  storms  that  wreck  the  winter's  sky 

No  more  disturb  their  deep  repose 
Than  summer  evening's  latest  sigh 
That  shuts  the  rose. 


522         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

But  in  the  poem,  "At  Home  in  Heaven,"  which 
we  are  considering — with  its  divine  text  in  i  Thess. 
4:17 — the  Sheffield  bard  rises  to  the  heights  of 
vision.  He  wrote  it  when  he  was  an  old  man.  The 
contemplation  so  absorbed  him  that  he  could  not 
quit  his  theme  till  he  had  composed  twenty-two 
quatrains.  Only  four  or  five — or  at  most  only 
seven  of  them — are  now  in  general  use.  Like  his 
"  Prayer  is  the  Soul's  Sincere  Desire,'*  they  have  the 
pith  of  devotional  thought  in  them,  but  are  less 
subjective  and  analytical. 

Forever  with  the  Lord! 

Amen,  so  let  it  be, 
Life  from  the  dead  is  in  that  word; 

'Tis  immortality. 

Here  in  the  body  pent, 

Absent  from  Him  I  roam, 
Yet  nightly  pitch  my  moving  tent 

A  day's  march  nearer  home. 

My  Father's  house  on  high! 

Home  of  my  soul,  how  near 
At  times  to  faith's  foreseeing  eye 

Thy  golden  gates  appear. 

I  hear  at  morn  and  even, 

At  noon  and  midnight  hour, 
The  choral  harmonies  of  heaven 

Earth's  Babel  tongues  o'erpower. 

The  last  line  has  been  changed  to  read — 
Seraphic  music  pour, 

— and  finally  the  hymnals  have  dropped  the  verse 
and  substituted  others.     The  new  line  is  an  im- 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        523 

provement  in  melody  but  not  in  rhyme,  and,  be- 
sides, it  robs  the  stanza  of  its  leading  thought — • 
heaven  and  earth  offsetting  each  other,  and 
heavenly  music  drowning  earthly  noise — a  thought 
that  is  missed  even  in  the  rich  cantos  of  "  Jerusalem 
the  Golden." 

THE   TUNES. 

Nearly  the  whole  school  of  good  short  metre 
tunes,  from  "St.  Thomas"  to  "Boylston"  have 
offered  their  notes  to  Montgomery's  **At  Home 
in  Heaven,"  but  the  two  most  commonly  recog- 
nized as  its  property  are  *'Mornington,"  named 
from  Lord  Mornington,  its  author,  and  I.  B.Wood- 
bury's familiar  harmony,  "  Forever  with  the  Lord." 

Garret  Colley  Wellesley,  Earl  of  Mornington, 
and  ancestor  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  was  born 
in  Dagan,  Ireland,  July  19,  1735.  Remarkable 
for  musical  talent  when  a  child,  he  became  a  skilled 
vioHnist,  organ-player  and  composer  in  boyhood, 
with  little  aid  beyond  his  solitary  study  and 
practice.  When  scarcely  twenty-one,  the  Univer- 
sity of  Dublin  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Music,  and  a  professorship.  He  excelled 
as  a  composer  of  glees,  but  wrote  also  tunes  and 
anthems  for  the  church,  some  of  which  are  still 
extant  in  the  choir  books  of  the  Dublin  Cathedral. 
Died  March.  22,  1781. 


524  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"HARK!    HARK,  MY  SOUL!" 

The  Methodist  Reformation,  while  it  had  found 
no  practical  sympathy  within  the  established 
church,  left  a  deep  sense  of  its  reason  and  purpose 
in  the  minds  of  the  more  devout  Episcopalians, 
and  this  feeling,  instead  of  taking  form  in  popular 
revival  methods,  prompted  them  to  deeper  sin- 
cerity and  more  spiritual  fervor  in  their  traditional 
rites  of  worship.  Many  of  the  next  generation 
inherited  this  pious  ecclesiasticism,  and  carried 
their  loyalty  to  the  old  Christian  culture  to  the 
extreme  of  devotion  till  they  saw  in  the  sacraments 
the  highest  good  of  the  soul.  It  was  Keble's 
** Christian  Year"  and  his  "Assize  Sermon"  that 
began  the  Tractarian  movement  at  Oxford  which 
brought  to  the  front  himself  and  such  men  as 
Henry  Newman  and  Frederick  William  Faber. 

The  hymns  and  sacred  poems  of  these  sacra- 
mentarian  Christians  would  certify  to  their  earnest 
piety,  even  if  their  lives  were  unknown. 

Faber's  hymn  "Hark,  Hark  My  Soul,"  is  wel- 
comed and  loved  by  every  Christian  sect  for  its 
religious  spirit  and  its  lyric  beauty. 

Hark!  hark,  my  soul!  angelic  songs  are  swelling 

0*er  earth's  green  fields  and  ocean's  wave-beat  shore; 

How  sweet  the  truth  those  blessed  strains  are  telling 
Of  that  new  life  where  sin  shall  be  no  more. 

Refrain 

Angels  of  Jesus,  angels  of  light 

Singing  to  welcome  the  pilgrims  of  the  night. 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        525 

Onward  we  go,  for  still  we  hear  them  singing 
*  'Come,  weary  souls,  for  Jesus  bids  you  come, " 

And  through  the  dark,  its  echoes  sweetly  ringing. 
The  music  of  the  gospel  leads  us  home. 

Angels  of  Jesus. 

Far,  far  away,  like  bells  at  evening  pealing. 

The  voice  of  Jesus  sounds  o'er  land  and  sea, 
And  laden  souls,  by  thousands  meekly  stealing. 
Kind  Shepherd,  turn  their  weary  steps  to  Thee. 

Angels  of  Jesus. 
THE   TUNES. 

John  B.  Dykes  and  Henry  Smart — both  masters 
of  hymn-tune  construction — have  set  this  hymn  to 
music.  "Vox  AngeHca"  in  B  flat,  the  work  of  the 
former,  is  a  noble  composition  for  choir  or  congre- 
gation, but  *' Pilgrim,"  the  other's  interpretation, 
though  not  dissimilar  in  movement  and  vocal 
range,  has,  perhaps,  the  more  sympathetic  melody. 
It  is,  at  least,  the  favorite  in  many  localities.  Some 
books  print  the  two  on  adjacent  pages  as  optionals. 

Another  much-loved  hymn  of  Faber's  is — 

O  Paradise,  O  Paradise! 

Who  doth  not  crave  for  rest  ? 
Who  would  not  see  the  happy  land 

Where  they  that  loved  are  blest  ? 
Refrain 

Where  loyal  hearts  and  true 

Stand  ever  in  the  light, 
All  rapture  through  and  through 

In  God's  most  holy  sight. 

O  Paradise,  O  Paradise, 
The  world  is  growing  oldj 


526         STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 


Who  would  not  be  at  rest  and  free 
Where  love  is  never  cold. 

Where  loyal  hearts  and  true. 

O  Paradise,  O  Paradise, 

I  greatly  long  to  see 
The  special  place  my  dearest  Lord, 

In  love  prepares  for  me. 

Where  loya!  hearts  and  true. 

This  aspiration,  from  the  ardent  soul  of  the  poet 
has  been  interpreted  in  song  by  the  same  two 
musicians,  and  by  Joseph  Barnby — all  with  the 
title  "Paradise."  Their  similarity  of  style  and 
near  equality  of  merit  have  compelled  compilers 
to  print  at  least  two  of  them  side  by  side  for  the 
singers'  choice.  A  certain  pathos  in  the  strains  of 
Barnby's  composition  gives  it  a  peculiar  charm  to 
many,  and  in  America  it  is  probably  the  oftenest 
sung  to  the  words. 

Dr.  David  Breed,  speaking  of  Faber's  "un- 
usual" imagination,  says,  "He  got  more  out  of 
language  than  any  other  poet  of  the  English  ton- 
gue, and  used  words — even  simple  words —  so  that 
they  rendered  him  a  service  which  no  other  poet 
ever  secured  from  them."  The  above  hymns  are 
characteristic  to  a  degree,  but  the  telling  simplicity 
of  his  style — almost  quaint  at  times — is  more 
marked  in  "There's  a  Wideness  in  God's  Mercy," 
given  on  p.  234. 


Horatius 
Bonar,  D.D. 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        527 

"BEYOND   THE    SMILING    AND   THE    WEEPING." 

This  song  of  hope — one  of  the  most  strangely 
tuneful  and  rune-like  of  Dr.  Bonar's  hymn-poems 
— is  less  frequently  sung  owing  to  the  peculiarity 
of  its  stanza  form.  But  it  scarcely  needs  a  staff  of 
notes — 

Beyond  the  smiling  and  the  weeping 

I  shall  be  soon; 
Beyond  the  waking  and  the  sleeping, 
Beyond  the  sowing  and  the  reaping 
I  shall  be  soon. 
Refrain 

Love,  rest  and  home! 

Sweet  hope  I 
Lord,  tarry  not,  but  come. 

****** 

Beyond  the  parting  and  the  meeting 

I  shall  be  soon; 
Beyond  the  farewell  and  the  greeting, 
Beyond  the  pulses'  fever-beating 

I  shall  be  soon. 

Love,  rest  and  home! 

Beyond  the  frost-chain  and  the  fever 

I  shall  be  soon; 
Beyond  the  rock-waste  and  the  river 
Beyond  the  ever  and  the  never 
I  shall  be  soon. 

Love,  rest  and  home! 

The  wild  contrasts  and  reverses  of  earthly  vi- 
cissitude are  spoken  and  felt  here  in  the  sequence 
of  words.  Perpetual  black-and-white  through 
time;    then    the    settled    life    and    untreacherous 


528  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

peace  of  eternity.  Everywhere  in  the  song  the  note 
of  heavenly  hope  interrupts  the  wail  of  disappoint- 
ment, and  the  chorus  returns  to  transport  the  soul 
from  the  land  of  emotional  whirlwinds  to  unbroken 
rest. 

THE   TUNES. 

Mr.  Bradbury  wrote  an  admirable  tune  to  this 
hymn,  though  the  one  since  composed  by  Mr. 
Stebbins  has  in  some  localities  superseded  it  in 
popular  favor.  Skill  in  following  the  accent  and 
unequal  rhythms  produces  a  melodious  tone- 
poem,  and  completes  the  impression  of  Bonar's 
singular  but  sweet  lyric  of  hope  which  suggests  a 
chant-choral  rather  than  a  regular  polyphonic 
harmony.  W.  A.  Tarbutton  and  the  young  com- 
poser, Karl  Harrington,  have  set  the  hymn  to 
music,  but  the  success  of  their  work  awaits  the 
public  test. 

"WE  SHALL  MEET  BEYOND  THE  RIVER." 

The  words  were  written  by  Rev.  John  Atkinson, 
D.D.,  in  January,  1867,  soon  after  the  death  of  his 
mother.  He  had  been  engaged  in  revival  work 
and  one  night  in  his  study, "  that  song,  in  substance, 
seemed,"  he  says,  "to  sing  itself  into  my  heart." 
He  said  to  himself,  "I  would  better  write  it  down, 
or  I  shall  lose  it." 

"There,"  he  adds,  "in  the  silence  of  my 
study,  and  not  far  from  midnight,  I  wrote  the 
hymn." 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        529 

We  shall  meet  beyond  the  river 

By  and  by,  by  and  by; 
And  the  darkness  will  be  over 

By  and  by,  by  and  by. 

With  the  toilsome  journey  done, 

And  the  glorious  battle  v^on. 
We  shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun 

By  and  by,  by  and  by. 

The  Rev.  John  Atkinson  was  born  in  Deerfield, 
N.  J.  Sept.  6,  1835.  A  clergyman  of  the  Metho- 
dist denomination,  he  is  well-known  as  one  of  its 
writers.  The  Centennial  History  of  American  Metho- 
dism is  his  work,  and  besides  the  above  hymn,  he  has 
written  and  published  The  Garden  of  Sorrows, 
and  The  Living  Way.    He  died  Dec.  8,  1897. 

The  tune  to  *'We  Shall  Meet,"  by  Hubert  P. 
Main,  composed  in  1867,  exactly  translates  the 
emotional  hymn  into  music.  S.  J.  Vail  also  wrote 
music  to  the  words.  The  hymn,  originally  six 
eight-line  stanzas,  was  condensed  at  his  request 
to  its  present  length  and  form  by  Fanny  Crosby. 

"ONE  SWEETLY  SOLEMN  THOUGHT." 

Phebe  Gary,  the  author  of  this  happy  poem,  was 
the  younger  of  the  two  Gary  sisters,  Alice  and 
Phebe,  names  pleasantly  remembered  in  American 
literature.  The  praise  of  one  reflects  the  praise  of 
the  other  when  we  are  told  that  Phebe  possessed  a 
loving  and  trustful  soul,  and  her  life  was  an  honor 
to  true  womanhood  and  a  blessing  to  the  poor.  She 
had  to  struggle  with  hardship  and  poverty  in  her 


530         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

early  years:  "I  have  cried  in  the  street  because  I 
was  poor,"  she  said  in  her  prosperous  years,  "and 
the  poor  always  seem  nearer  to  me  than  the  rich." 

When  reputation  came  to  her  as  a  writer,  she  re- 
moved from  her  little  country  home  near  Cincin- 
nati, O.,  where  she  was  born,  in  1824,  and  settled 
in  New  York  City  with  her  sister.  She  died  at 
Newport,  N.  Y.,  July  31,  1871,  and  her  hymn  was 
sung  at  her  funeral.  Her  remains  rest  in  Green- 
wood Cemetery. 

"One  Sweetly  Solemn  Thought,"  was  written  in 
1852,  during  a  visit  to  one  of  her  friends.  She 
wrote  (to  her  friend's  inquiry)  years   afterwards 

that  it  first  saw  the  light  "in  your  own  house in 

the  little  back  third-story  bedroom,  one  Sunday 
after  coming  from  church."  It  was  a  heart  ex- 
perience noted  down  without  literary  care  or  artistic 
effort,  and  in  its  original  form  was  in  too  irregular 
measure  to  be  sung.  She  set  little  value  upon  it  as 
a  poem,  but  when  shown  hesitatingly  to  inquiring 
compilers,  its  intrinsic  worth  was  seen,  and  various 
revisions  of  it  were  made.  The  following  is  one  of 
the  best  versions — stanzas  one,  two  and  three: — - 

One  sweetly  solemn  thought 

Comes  to  me  o'er  and  o'er, 
I  am  nearer  home  to-day, 

Than  I  ever  have  been  before. 

Nearer  my  Father's  house, 

Where  the  many  mansions  be, 

Nearer  the  great  white  throne, 
Nearer  the  crystal  sea. 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        53 1 

Nearer  the  bound  of  life, 

Where  we  lay  our  burdens  down. 

Nearer  leaving  the  cross 
Nearer  gaining  the  crown. 

THE   TUNE. 

The  old  revival  tune  of  "Dunbar,"  with  its 
chorus,  "There'll  be  no  more  sorrow  there,'*  has 
been  sung  to  the  hymn,  but  the  tone-lyric  of  Philip 
Phillips,  "Nearer  Home,''  has  made  the  words  its 
own,  and  the  public  are  more  familiar  with  it  than 
with  any  other.  It  was  this  air  that  a  young  man 
in  a  drinking  house  in  Macao,  near  Hong-Kong, 
began  humming  thoughtlessly  while  his  companion 
was  shuffling  the  cards  for  a  new  game.  Both  were 
Americans,  the  man  with  the  cards  more  than  twen- 
ty years  the  elder.  Noticing  the  tune,  he  threw 
down  the  pack.  Every  word  of  the  hymn  had 
come  back  to  him  with  the  echo  of  the  music. 

"Harry,  where  did  you  learn  that  hymn  V^ 

"What  hymn?" 

"Why  the  one  you  have  been  singing." 

The  young  man  said  he  did  not  know  what  he 
had  been  singing.  But  when  the  older  one  repeated 
some  of  the  lines,  he  said  they  were  learned  in  the 
Sunday-school. 

"  Come,  Harry, "  said  the  older  one,  "  here's  what 
I've  won  from  you.  As  for  me,  as  God  sees  me,  I 
have  played  my  last  game,  and  drank  my  last 
bottle.  I  have  misled  you,  Harry,  and  I  am  sorry 
for  it.    Give  me  your  hand,  my  boy,  and  say  that, 


532  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

for  old  America's  sake,  if  for  no  other,  you  will 
quit  this  infernal  business." 

Col.  Russel  H.  Conwell,  of  Boston,  (now  Rev. 
Dr.  Conwell  of  Philadelphia)  who  was  then  visit- 
ing China,  and  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene, 
says  that  the  reformation  was  a  permanent  one  for 
both. 

*'l  WILL  SING  YOU  A  SONG  OF  THAT  BEAUTIFUL 
LAND." 


One  day,  in  the  year  1865,  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  H. 
Gates  received  a  letter  from  Philip  Phillips  noting 
the  passage  in  the  Pilgrirns  Progress  which  des- 
cribes the  joyful  music  of  heaven  when  Christian 
and  Hopeful  enter  on  its  shining  shore  beyond  the 
river  of  death,  and  asking  her  to  write  a  hymn  in 
the  spirit  of  the  extract,  as  one  of  the  numbers  m 
his  Singing  Pilgrim.  Mrs.  Gates  complied — and 
the  sequel  of  the  hymn  she  wrote  is  part  of  the  mod- 
ern song-history  of  the  church.  Mr.  Phillips  has 
related  how,  when  he  received  it,  he  sat  down  with 
his  little  boy  on  his  knee,  read  again  the  passage  in 
Bunyan,  then  the  poem  again,  and,  turning  to  his 
organ,  pencil  in  hand,  pricked  the  notes  of  the 
melody.  "The  *Home  of  the  Soul,'"  he  says, 
"seems  to  have  had  God's  blessing  from  the 
beginning,  and  has  been  a  comfort  to  many  a 
bereaved  soul.  Like  many  loved  hymns,  it  has 
had  a  peculiar  history,  for  its  simple  melody  has 
flowed  from  the  Hps  of  High  Churchmen,  and  has 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        533 

sought  to  make  itself  heard  above  the  din  of  Salva- 
tion Army  cymbals  and  drums.  It  has  been  sung 
in  prisons  and  in  jailyards,  while  the  poor  convict 
v^as  waiting  to  be  launched  into  eternity,  and  on 
hundreds  of  funeral  occasions.  One  man  writes 
me  that  he  has  led  the  singing  of  it  at  one  hundred 
and  twenty  funerals.  It  was  sung  at  my  dear  boy's 
funeral,  who  sat  on  my  knee  when  I  wrote  it.  It  is 
my  prayer  that  God  may  continue  its  solace  and 
comfort.  I  have  books  containing  the  song  now 
printed  in  seven  different  languages." 

A  writer  in  the  Golden  Rule  (now  the  Christian 
Endeavor  World)  calls  attention  to  an  incident  on 
a  night  railroad  train  narrated  in  the  late  Ben- 
jamin F.  Taylor's  PForld  on  Wheels,  in  which 
*^this  hymn  appears  as  a  sort  of  Traveller's  Psalm." 
Among  the  motley  collection  of  passengers,  some 
talkative,  some  sleepy,  some  homesick  and  cross,  all 
tired,  sat  two  plain  women  who,  "would  make  cap- 
ital country  aunts. . .  .If  they  were  mothers  at  all 
they  were  good  ones."  Suddenly  in  a  dull  silence, 
near  twelve  o'clock,  a  voice,  sweet  and  flexible, 
struck  up  a  tune.  The  singer  was  one  of  those 
women.  "She  sang  on,  one  after  another  the  good 
Methodist  and  Baptist  melodies  of  long  ago,"  and 
the  growing  interest  of  the  passengers  became 
chained  attention  when  she  began — 

**I  will  sing  you  a  song  of  that  beautiful  land, 
The  far-away  home  of  the  soul, 
Where  no  storms  can  beat  on  the  glittering  strand. 
While  the  years  of  eternity  roll. 


534         STORY   OF   THE    HYMNS    AND   TUNES. 

O,  that  home  of  the  soul,  in  my  visions  and  dreams, 

Its  bright  jasper  walls  I  can  see; 
Till  I  fancy  but  thinly  the  veil  intervenes 

Between  the  fair  city  and  me." 

"The  car  was  a  wakeful  hush  long  before  she  had 
ended;  it  was  as  if  a  beautiful  spirit  were  floating 
through  the  air.  None  that  heard  will  ever  for- 
get. Philip  Phillips  can  never  bring  that  *home  of 
the  soul'  any  nearer  to  anybody.  And  never,  I 
think,  was  quite  so  sweet  a  voice  lifted  in  a  storm 
of  a  November  night  on  the  rolling  plains  of 
Iowa." 

In  an  autograph  copy  of  her  hymn,  sent  to  the 
editor,  Mrs.  Gates  changes  "harps"  to  "palms." 
Is  it  an  improvement  ?  "  Palms"  is  a  word  of  two 
meanings. 

O  how  sweet  it  will  be  in  that  beautiful  land, 

So  free  from  all  sorrow  and  pain. 
With  songs  on  our  lips  and  with  harps  in  our  hands 

To  meet  one  another  again. 

"THERE'S  A  LAND  THAT  IS  FAIRER  THAN  DAY" 

This  belongs  rather  with  "Christian  Ballads" 
than  with  genuine  hymns,  but  the  song  has  had  and 
still  has  an  uplifting  mission  among  the  lowly 
whom  literary  perfection  and  musical  nicety  could 
not  touch — and  the  first  two  hnes,  at  least,  are 
good  hymn-writing.  Few  of  the  best  sacred  lyrics 
have  been  sung  with  purer  sentiment  and  more 
affectionate  fervor  than  "The  Sweet  By-and-By." 
To  any  company  keyed  to  sympathy  by  time,  place, 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        535 

and  condition,  the  feeling  of  the  song  brings  unshed 
tears. 

As  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained  it  was  in  the  year 
1867  that  a  man  about  forty-eight  years  old,  named 
Webster,  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Bennett  in  Elk- 
horn,  Wis.,  wearing  a  melancholy  look,  and  was 
rallied  good-naturedly  by  the  doctor  for  being  so 
blue — Webster  and  Bennett  were  friends,  and  the 
doctor  was  familiar  with  the  other's  frequent  fits 
of  gloom. 

The  two  men  had  been  working  in  a  sort  of  part- 
nership, Webster  being  a  musician  and  Bennett  a 
ready  verse-writer,  and  together  they  had  created 
and  published  a  number  of  sheet-music  songs. 
When  Webster  was  in  a  fit  of  melancholy,  it  was  the 
doctor's  habit  to  give  him  a  "dose"  of  new  verses 
and  cure  him  by  putting  him  to  work.  Today  the 
treatment  turned  out  to  be  historic. 

**What's  the  matter  now,"  was  the  doctor's  greet- 
ing when  his  "patient"  came  with  the  tell-tale  face. 

"O,  nothing,"  said  Webster.  "It'll  be  all  right 
by  and  by." 

"Why  not  make  a  song  of  the  sweet  by  and  by  ?" 
rejoined  the  doctor,  cheerfully. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Webster,  after  thinking  a 
second  or  two.  "If  you'll  make  the  words,  I'll 
write  the  music." 

The  doctor  went  to  his  desk,  and  in  a  short  time 
produced  three  stanzas  and  a  chorus  to  which  his 
friend  soon  set  the  notes  of  a  lilting  air,  brighten- 
ing up  with  enthusiasm  as  he  wrote.     Seizing  his 


536  STORY    OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

violin,  which  he  had  with  him,  he  played  the  mel- 
ody, and  in  a  few  minutes  more  he  had  filled  in  the 
counterpoint  and  made  a  complete  hymn-tune. 
By  that  time  two  other  friends,  who  could  sing,  had 
come  in  and  the  quartette  tested  the  music  on  the 
spot.  Here  different  accounts  divide  widely 
as  to  the  immediate  sequel  of  the  new-born 
song. 

A  Western  paper  in  telling  its  story  a  year  or  two 
ago,  stated  that  Webster  took  the  "Sweet  By  and 
By  "(in  sheet-music  form),  with  a  batch  of  other 
pieces,  to  Chicago,  and  that  it  was  the  only  song 
of  the  lot  that  Root  and  Cady  would  not  buy;  and 
finally,  after  he  had  tried  in  vain  to  sell  it,  Lyon 
and  Healy  took  it  "out  of  pity,"  and  paid  him 
twenty  dollars.  They  sold  eight  or  ten  copies  (the 
story  continued)  and  stowed  it  away  with  dead 
goods,  and  it  was  not  till  apparently  a  long  time 
after,  when  a  Sunday-school  hymn-book  reprinted 
it,  and  began  to  sell  rapidly  on  its  account,  that 
the  "  Sweet  By  and  By"  started  on  its  career  round 
the  world. 

This  seems  circumstantial  enough,  and  the  author 
of  the  hymn  in  his  own  story  of  it  might  have  chos- 
en to  omit  some  early  particulars,  but,  untrust- 
worthy as  the  chronology  of  mere  memory  is,  he 
would  hardly  record  immediate  popularity  of  a 
song  that  lay  in  obscurity  for  years.  Dr.  Bennett's 
words  are,  "I  think  it  was  used  in  public  shortly 
after  [its  production],  for  w^ithin  two  weeks  child- 
ren on  the  street  were  singing  it. " 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        537 

The  explanation  may  be  partly  the  different 
method  and  order  of  the  statements,  partly  lapses 
of  memory  (after  thirty  years)  and  partly  in  collat- 
eral facts.  The  Sunday-school  hymn-book  was 
evidently  The  Signet  Ring,  which  Bennett  and 
Webster  were  at  work  upon  and  into  which  first 
went  the  "Sweet  By  and  By" — whatever  efforts 
may  have  been  made  to  dispose  of  it  elsewhere  or 
whatever  copyright  arrangement  could  have  war- 
ranted Mr.  Healy  in  purchasing  a  song  already 
printed.  The  Signet  Ring  did  not  begin  to  pro- 
fit by  the  song  until  the  next  year,  after  a  copy  of  it 
appeared  in  the  publishers'  circulars,  and  started 
a  demand;  so  that  the  immediate  popularity  im- 
plied in  Doctor  Bennett's  account  was  limited  to 
the  children  of  Elkhorn  village. 

The  piece  had  its  run,  but  with  no  exceptional 
result  as  to  its  hold  on  the  public,  until  in  1873  ^^^ 
D.  Sankey  took  it  up  as  one  of  his  working  hymns. 
Modified  from  its  first  form  in  the  ^'Signet  Ring'* 
with  pianoforte  accompaniment  and  chorus,  it 
appeared  that  year  in  Winnowed  Hymns  as  ar- 
ranged by  Hubert  P.  Main,  and  it  has  so  been 
sung  ever  since. 

Sanford  Filmore  Bennett, born  in  1836,  appears 
to  have  been  a  native  of  the  West,  or,  at  least, 
removed  there  when  a  young  man.  In  1861  he 
settled  in  Elkhorn  to  practice  his  profession.  Died 
Oct.,  1898. 

Joseph  Philbrick  Webster  was  born  in  Man- 
chester, N.H.  March  22,  1819.     He  was  an  active 


538  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

member  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  and 
various  other  musical  associations.  Removed  to 
Madison,  Ind.  1851,  Racine,  Wis.  1856,  and  Elk- 
horn,  Wis.,  1857,  v^here  he  died  Jan.  18,  1875. 
His  Signet  Ring  was  published  in  1868. 

There's  a  land  that  is  fairer  than  day, 

And  by  faith  I  can  see  it  afar 
For  the  Father  waits  over  the  way 

To  prepare  us  a  dwelling-place  there. 
Chorus 

In  the  sweet  by  and  by 
We  shall  meet  on  that  beautiful  shore. 

We  shall  sing  on  that  beautiful  shore 
The  melodious  songs  of  the  blest, 

And  our  spirits  shall  sorrow  no  more. 
Nor  sigh  for  the  blessing  of  rest. 

In  the  sweet  by  and  by,  etc. 

"SUNSET  AND  EVENING  STAR." 

Was  it  only  a  poet's  imagination  that  made 
Alfred  Tennyson  approach  perhaps  nearest  of  all 
great  Protestants  to  a  sense  of  the  real  "  Presence,  '* 
every  time  he  took  the  Holy  Communion  at  the 
altar  }  Whatever  the  feeling  was,  it  characterized 
all  his  maturer  life,  so  far  as  its  spiritual  side  was 
known.  His  remark  to  a  niece  expressed  it,  while 
walking  with  her  one  day  on  the  seashore,  "God 
is  with  us  now,  on  this  down,  just  as  truly  as  Jesus 
was  with  his  two  diciples  on  the  way  to  Emmaus.  '* 

Such  a  man's  faith  would  make  no  room  for 
dying  terrors. 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        539 

Sunset  and  evening  star, 

And  one  clear  call  for  me. 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar 

When  I  put  out  to  sea. 

But  such  a  tide  as,  moving,  seems  asleep. 

Too  full  for  sound  and  foam. 
When  that  w^hich  drev^  from  out  the  boundless  deep 

Turns  again  home. 

Twilight  and  evening  bell, 

And  after  that  the  dark, 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell 

When  I  embark. 

For  though  from  out  our  bourne  of  time  and  place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 

When  I  have  crossed  the  bar. 

Tennyson  lived  three  years  after  penning  this 
sublime  prayer.  But  it  was  his  swan-song.  Born 
at  Somersby,  Lincolnshire,  Aug.  6,  1809,  dying  at 
Farringford,  Oct.  6,  1892,  he  filled  out  the  measure 
of  a  good  old  age.  And  his  prayer  was  answered, 
for  his  death  was  serene  and  dreadless.  His  unseen 
Pilot  guided  him  gently  *' across  the  bar" — and 
then  he  saw  Him. 

THE   TUNE. 

Joseph  Barnby's  *^ Crossing  the  Bar"  has  sup- 
plied a  noble  choral  to  this  poem.  It  will  go  far  to 
make  it  an  accepted  tone  in  church  worship, 
among  the  more  lyrical  strains  of  verse  that  sing 
hope  and  euthanasia. 


540  STORY   OF    THE    HYMNS    AND    TUNES. 

"SAFE  IN  THE  ARMS  OF  JESUS." 

If  Tennyson  had  the  mistaken  feeling  (as  Dr. 
Benson  intimates)  *'that  hymns  were  expected  to 
be  commonplace,'*  it  was  owing  both  to  his  mental 
breeding  and  his  mental  stature.  Genius  in  a  co- 
lossal frame  cannot  otherwise  than  walk  in  strides. 
What  is  technically  a  hymn  he  never  wrote,  but  it 
is  significant  that  as  he  neared  the  Shoreless  Sea, 
and  looked  into  the  Infinite,  his  sense  of  the  Di- 
vine presence  instilled  something  of  the  hymn  spirit 
into  his  last  verses. 

Between  Alfred  Tennyson  singing  trustfully  of 
his  Pilot  and  Fanny  Crosby  singing  "Safe  in  the 
Arms  of  Jesus,"  is  only  the  width  of  the  choir.  The 
organ  tone  and  the  flute-note  breathe  the  same  song. 
The  stately  poem  and  the  sweet  one,  the  masculine 
and  the  feminine,  both  have  wings,  but  while  the 
one  is  lifted  in  anthem  and  solemn  chant  in  the 
great  sanctuaries,  the  other  is  echoing  Isaiah's 
tender  text*  in  prayer  meeting  and  Sunday-school 
and  murmuring  it  at  the  humble  firesides  like  a 
mother's   lullaby. 

Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus, 

Safe  on  His  gentle  breast, 
There  by  His  love  o'ershaded 

Sweetly  my  soul  shall  rest. 
Hark!  'tis  the  voice  of  angels 

Borne  in  a  song  to  me 
Over  the  fields  of  glory, 

Over  the  jasper  sea. 

*Isa.  40:  II. 


HYMNS    OF    HOPE    AND    CONSOLATION.        54I 

Refrain 

Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  (ist  four  lines  rep.). 

Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus, 

Safe  from  corroding  care, 
Safe  from  the  world's  temptations. 

Sin  cannot  harm  me  there. 
Free  from  the  blight  of  sorrow. 

Free  from  my  doubts  and  fears, 
Only  a  few  more  trials, 

Only  a  few  more  tears. 

Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus, 

Jesus,  my  heart's  dear  refuge 

Jesus  has  died  for  me; 
Firm  on  the  Rock  of  Ages 

Ever  my  trust  shall  be. 
Here  let  me  with  patience. 

Wait  till  the  night  is  o'er, 
Wait  till  I  see  the  morning 

Break  on  the  Golden  Shore. 

Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus, 

— Composed  1868. 
THE  TUNE. 

Those  who  have  characterized  the  Gospel  Hymns 
as  "  sensational"  have  always  been  obliged  to  except 
this  modest  lyric  of  Christian  peace  and  its  sweet 
and  natural  musical  supplement  by  Dr.  W.  H. 
Doane.  No  hurried  and  high-pitched  chorus  dis- 
turbs the  quiet  beauty  of  the  hymn,  a  simple  Ja 
f^/?o  being  its  only  refrain.  "Safe  in  the  Arms  of 
Jesus"  sang  itself  into  public  favor  with  the  pulses 
of  hymn  and  tune  beating  together. 


INDEX  OF   NAMES. 


Abbot,  Lyman, 237,  326 

Abt,  Franz, 228,  364 

Adams,  E., 369 

Adams,  John, 368 

Adams,  John  Quincy, 293 

Adams,  Sarah  F., 1 52 

Addison,  Joseph, 113,  114,  353 

Adrian,  (Emperor), 515 

AiBiUNGER,  Johan  Caspar, 357 

Aldrich,  Jonathan, 287 

Alexander,  Mrs.  C.F., 414 

Allen,  George  N., 412 

Allen,  J.  O., 129 

Almond,  , 364,  365 

Altenb ERG,  Johan  M., 84 

Ambrose, xiii,  i,  2,  3 

Anatolius, 354 

Apes,  William, 265 

Aratus, 237 

Arne,  Thomas  A., 107,  108 

Arnold,  Matthew, 109 

Arnold,  S ., 287 

Atchison,  John  B., 451 

Atkinson,  John, 528,  529 

AuBER,  Harriet, 168,  169 

Augustine, ix,  2,  3 

AvisoN,  Charles, 329 

Bach,  Emanuel, 9 

Bach,  Sebastian, 9>  71 

Bailey,  Thomas  H., 112 

Baker,  Sir  Henry, 57 

Baldwin,  Thomas, 262 

Barlow,  Joel, 242,  243 

Barnby,  Joseph,  102,  iii,  469, 

500,504,526, 539 

Barnes,  Albert, 35 

Barthelemon,  F.H., 202,  222 

Basil  the  great, 54 

Bassini, , 444 

Beanes,  William, 333 

Beddome,  Benjamin, 160,  169 


Beecher,  Henry  Ward, 218 

Beethoven,  Ludwig  Von,  5, 193, 

327, 338 

Belcher,  Dr., 44 

Bennett,  Sanford  F., 535~537 

Benson,  Louis  F., 204,  206 

Bentham,  Jeremy, 97 

Berkeley,  Bp.  George,. ..  .324-326 

Bernard  OF  CLAiRVAux, 100 

Bernard   of   cluny,   407,  510, 

5ii» 519 

Berridge,    John, 122,  123,  503 

BeRTHOLD  OF  TOURS, 55 

Beza,  Theodore, xvi 

BiGLOW  AND  main, 229 

Billings,  William,  i6,  327,  332, 

333>---: 475 

Bishop,  Sir  Henry, 135 

Blackall,  C.R., 450 

Bliss,  Mrs.  J.  Worthington 259 

Bliss,  Philip  P.,  155,  156,  319, 
372,  421,  422,  424,  431,  436, 

437,442,444> 454 

Bloomfield,  Dorothy, 503 

Boardman,  George  Dana, 247 

Bohler,  Peter, 46 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon, 97,  389 

Bonar,  Horatius,  225,  226,  228, 

309,490,415, 527 

BoNAR,  James, 490 

Bonaventura, 54,  458 

Borth WICK,  Jane, 103,  499 

BoRTNiANSKY,  Dimitri, 213 

Bottome,  Francis, 433 

BOURDALOUE, I3 

Bourgevis,  Louis, 15 

BowRiNG,  Sir  John,  97,  98,  170,  501 

Boyd,  William, 513 

Bradbury,  William  B.,  106, 107, 
215,  217,  235,  311,  312,  363, 

410,513, 528 

Brady,  Nicholas, 12,  14,  193 


643 


544 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES, 


Brainerd,  Dav  d, 263 

Breed,  David  R.,  171,  176,  180, 

226, 526 

Brooks,  Charles  T., 348 

Brooks,  Bp.  Phillips, x,  164,  169 

Brown,  John, 342 

Brown,  Phebe  H., 229-232,  482 

Brown,  Samuel, 232 

Brown,  Theron, 188,  476,  480 

Brown,  Timothy  H., 229 

Bruce,  Michael, 297 

Brundage, , 454 

Bull,  John, 338 

Burgmuller,  F,, 425 

BuRNEY,  Charles, 241,  407 

Burns,  Robert, 333,  336,  367 

Bute,  Walter, 379,  380 

BuTTERwoRTH,  Hczckiah,  V,  vi, 

186,187,252, 254 

Caldwell,  William, 27? 

Campbell,  David  E., 222' 

Campbell,  Jane  M., 478 

Campbell,  Robert, 6^ 

Caradoc, , 38I 

Carey,  Henry, 339 

Carey,  William, 172,  491,  492. 

Caroline,  (Queen), 2o3 

Cary,  Phebe, 407,  529,  530 

Cartwright,  Peter, 271,  272 

Case,  Charles  C, 187 

Caswall,  Edward, 75,  101,  459 

Cawood,  John, 414,  465 

Celano,  Thomas  di., 62,  63 

Cennick,  John, 124,  126,  504 

Chalmers,  Thomas, 225,  226 

Chandler,  John, 485 

Chandler,  S., 270 

Chapin,  Amzi, 275 

Charlemagne, 5 

Charles,  David, 403 

Charles,  Thomas, 401 

CiBBER,  Mrs., 108 

Clark,  Jeremiah, 9 

Clarke,  Adam, 177 

Claudius,  Matthias, 478 

Clement  of  Alexandria,.  .294,  296 

Clephane,  El  zabeth  C, 423 

Clichtovius, 5 

Cole,  John, 115,  479,  507,  515 


Coles,  George, 126,  127,  285 

Collyer,  William  B., 72,  73 

Columbus,  Christopher, 356 

CoNDER,  Josiah, 489 

CoNKEY,  Ithamar, 99,  249 

Converse,  Charles  Crozat, 426 

CoNWELL,  Russell  H., 532 

Cook,  Martha  A.  W., 148,  149 

Cook,  Parsons, 148,  149 

Cooper,  George, 312 

CoRELU,  Arcangelo, 39 

Cornell,  J.  B., 438 

Cornell,  John  Henry,  96,  355,  415 

Corse,  Gen.  G.  M., 424 

Cousin,  Anne  R., 78,  8a 

Covert, 333 

CowD ELL,  Samuel, 265 

CowpER,  William,  x,   129,  131, 

176,  192, 403 

Croft,  William, 204 

Crosby,  Fanny  J.,  156,  184,  312, 

425^438, 546 

CuYLER,  Theodore  L., 377 

Cyprian  of  CARTHAGE, I 

Dadmun,  J.  W., 272 

Dagget,  Simeon, ' 330 

Dana,  Mary  S.  B., 287,  288 

Dartmouth,  Lord, 269 

Davenant,  Sir  William, 306 

De  Groote,  Gerard, 67 

DelaMothe,  JeanneM.B.,  190, 191 

De  Lisle,  Roget, 329 

Denham,  David, 134 

Dermid,  (King), 328 

Dexter,  Henry  M., 294,  296 

DiTSON,  Oliver, vii,  413 

Dixon,  William, 36 

DoANE,Bp.  George  W., 482,  483 

DoANE,  William  H.,    157,   425, 

429,  430,  438,  450,  480, 541 

Doddridge,    Philip,   116,    117, 

169,  410,  413,  476,  488,  495,  519 

Dodge,  Ossian  E., 333 

D0UGL.A.S,  George, vii 

Dow,  Howard  M., 502 

Dow,  Lorenzo, 272 

Dow,Peggy, 272 

Draper,  Bourne  H., 171 

Dlnbar,  E.  W., 288 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


545 


D'uRHAN,  Christian, 82 

DuTTON,  Deodatus, 232 

DwiGHT,  H.O., 462 

DwiGHT,  John  S., 347,  348 

DwiGHT,  Timothy, 29,  133,  134 

Dykes,  John  B.,  51,  57,  65,  104, 
152,  224,  228,  363,  370,  372, 
465* 5^5 

Edmeston,  James, 299,  488 

Edson,  Lewis, 395,  476 

Edwards,  Jonathan, 263 

Elias,  John, 390 

EuzABETH,  (Queen), 17 

Elliott,  Charlotte, 214,  215 

Elliot,  Ebenezer, 183 

Ellsworth,  J. S., 437 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo, 339,  340 

Ephrem,  Syrus, 56 

Erbury, , 381 

EsLiNG,  Catherine, 208,  209,  482 

Evans,  Evelyn, 407 

Evans,  Heber, 399 

Evans,  John  Miller, 369 

Evans,  Thomas, 401 

EwiNG,  Alexander, 512 

Faber,  Frederick  W.,  233,  234, 

30i» 5H 

Faure,  Jean  Baptiste, 470 

Fawcett,  John, 132,  133 

FiNDLATER,  MrS., IO3 

Fischer,  William  Gustavus, 429 

Flatman, , 515 

FoRTUNATUs,  Venantius, 357,  472 

Foster,  Paul, vii 

Franc,  Guillaume, 194 

Francis,  Benjamin, 132 

Frankenberry,  A.D., 424 

Frederick,  (King), 94 

Freeman,  John  E., 222 

Frothingham,N.L., ix 

Fulbert,  Bp., 59~6i 

Gardiner,  William, 48,  130 

Gates,  Bernard, 96 

Gates,   Ellen   M.  H.,  vii,  256, 

258,  430»  449»  53^. 534 

Gauntlett,  Henry  I., 48,  483 

Gellert,  C.  F., 473 


George  i,  (King), 11 

Gerhardt,  Paul,  84,  85,  87,  88,  93 

Giardini,  Felice, 227 

Gilmore,  Joseph  Henry, 235,  236 

Gladstone,  William  E., 139,  140 

Glaser,  Carl, 48 

Glenelg,  Lord, 22 

Good  E,  William, 14,  31 

Gordon,  A.  J., 162,  164 

Gordon,  Mrs.  A.  J., vii 

Gottschalk,  Louis, 483 

GouGH,  John  B., 215 

Gould,  Eliza, 151 

Gould,  John  Edgar,  374,  468,  488 

Gould,  Sabine  Baring, 185 

Grannis,  Sidney  M., 259 

Grape,  John  T., 429 

Grant,  Sir  Robert, 21,  22,  21  z 

Gregory  nazianzen, 56 

Gregory  the    great,    (Pope), 

xiii,xiv,8, 10 

Grenade,  John, 298 

Griffiths,  Arm, 396~399 

Griffiths,  Edward, 386 

Griggs, , 102 

Groote,  Gerald  de, 67 

GuiDO,  Arentino, xiv 

Guild,  Curtis, 206 

GuRNEY,  Mrs., 503 

Gustavus  adolphus,  (King),  ..82-84 
Gu YON,  Madame, 1 90,  1 92 

Hague,  John  R., vii 

Hall,  Amasiah, 513,  514 

Hall,  Elvina  M., 426 

Hammond,  William, 29 

Handel,  George  Frederick,  11, 

3i»i34»i66, 414 

Hankey,  Kate, 427,  429 

Hanna,  lone  T., 456 

Harrington,  C.S., 149 

Harrington,  Karl, 528 

Harris,  Howell, 381,  387,  388 

Harris,  Thomas, 366 

Harrison,  Ralph, 48 

K\RT,  Joseph, 119,  121 

Harewood,  Edward, 517 

Hastings,  H.  L., 204 

Hastings,  Thomas,  25,  59,  142, 

160,168,174,219-221, 223 


546 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


Hatfield,  C.  F., 14 

Hatton,  John, 37 

Hatton,  John  Liphot, 37 

Havergal,  Frances  Ridley,  154,  155 

Havergal,  William  Henry, 227 

Hawkes,  Annie  S., 153 

Hawkes,  Robert, 14 

Haydn,  Joseph, 32 

Hayward,  Thomas, 488 

Hearn,  Marianne   Famingham, 

441. 442 

Heath,  George, 143 

Heath,  Lyman, 247 

Heber,  Bp.  Reginald,  4,  50,  51, 

178,  i79>---- 3'8 

Hedge,  Frederick  H., 71 

Hemans,   Felicia,  196,  359,  323, 

3H> 333 

Henry  viii,  (King), 18 

Hews,  George, 407,  483,  484 

Hicks,  John  J., 272 

Hilary,  Bp., liii 

Hiller,  Ferdinand, 65,  66 

Hinsdale,  George, 229 

Hodges,  Edward, 212,  464 

Holbrook,  Joseph  P.,  360,  364,  501 

Hold  EN,  Oliver, 27,  28 

Holmes,  O.  \V., 52,  249,  344 

HoLROYD,  Israel, 409 

HOLZMAN, , 329 

Hopkins,  Edward, 30,  112 

Hopkins,  John, 15 

HoPKiNSON,  Joseph, 331 

Hopper,  Edward, 373 

HoRDER,  Garret, 489 

Howard,  John, 24 

Howe,  Julia  Ward, 340,  343 

Hucbald, xiii 

HuFFER,  Francis, 95 

HfGHES   AND    SON, vii 

Hughes,  Mrs., 359 

Hlmphreys,  Cecil  Frances, 414 

Hunter,  William, 272,  288,  289 

Huntingdon,  (Lady)  Selina,  25, 

88,89,119,128, 201 

Huntington,  DeWitt  C, 436 

Husband,  John  Jenkins, 416 

Hyatt,  John, 216 

Hyde,  Charles, 230 


Ingalls,    Jeremiah,    121,    274, 

278, 507 

rving,  Washington, 321 

SAAC,  Heinrich, 91,  112 

ACKSON,  Andrew, 206 

ACKSON,  Deborah, 206 

EROME  OF  PRAGUE.  ., 472 

OHN   OF    DAMASCUS, 53,   54,   57 

OHNSON,  Albert, 222 

OHNSON,  Mrs.  James  G., 452 

ONES,  H.  R., 392 

ONES,  John, 393 

ONES,  Nancy, 389,  390 

ONES,  Thomas, 401 

UDAH,  Daniel  Ben, 20 

udson,  Sarah  B., 246 

uuAN,  John, 204 

Keble,  John, 1 59,  252,  482 

Keene,  Robert, 204 

Keller,  Matthias, 343,  345,  347 

Kelley,  Thomas, 173,  174 

Kempis,  Thomas  a, 67 

KEN,Bp., 13,  14 

Key,  Francis  Scott, 49,  333 

Key,  John  R., 49 

King,  Jacob, 71 

King  robert  ii, 11,  57,  58,  60 

KiNGSLEY,  George,  34,  102,  158, 

281,318, 519 

Kipling,  Rudyard, 349~35' 

KozELUCK, , 483 

Krishna  pal, 491 

Lamb,  Frank  M., 253, 254 

Lattimore,  W.  O., 434 

Lee,  Mary  Augusta, 455,  456 

Lee,  Gen.  Robert  E., 206 

Leland,  John, 224,  276,  482 

Lincoln,  Abraham, 239,  256 

Lindsay,  Miss, 259 

LoaAN,  John, 279 

Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  —  248, 249 

Longfellow,  Samuel, ix 

Lorimer,  George, 252 

Louis,  (King), 5,  191 

LOWRY,    J.    C, 118 

LowRY,  Robert,   39,    148,    153, 
406,  419,  446, 448 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


5+7 


Loyola,  Ignatius, 74 

Lucas,  James, 495 

Lldwig,  Duke, 121 

Luke,  Jemima  T., 305,  306 

Lulu, , 338 

LuMMis,  Franklin  H., 342 

Luther,  Martin,  rvi,  8,  69-71,  388 

Lyon,  Meyer, 20 

Lyte,  Henry  Francis, 217,  221 

Macgill,  Hamilton  M., 296 

Mackay,  Charles, 135 

Mackay,  Margaret, 499 

Mackay,  William  Paton, 416 

Madan,  Martin,  29,  30,  41,  463,  505 

Maffit,  John, 274 

Main,  Hubert  P-,vi,vii,  115, 134, 
228,  240,  299,  307,  369,  415, 

430»   470, 537 

Malan,  Caesar,  rvi,   214,  384,  436 

Marco,  (  ?),  Portugal  is, 205,  206 

Marot,   Clement, xvi 

MLarsh, , 363 

Marvin,  Bp., 151 

Mary,  (Queen), 12, 18 

Mary,  (Princess), 12,  18 

Mary,  (Virgin), 356,  358 

Mary  Stuart,  (Queen), 77 

Mason,  Francis, 175 

Mason,  Lowell,  36,  91,  93,  105, 
106,  III,  118,  131,  133,  146, 
170,  173,  179,  196,  302,  337, 

339,348,363,581, 526 

Masters,  Mary, 303 

Maurice, , 381 

Maxim,  Abraham,. , .  .282,  283,  488 

Mayo,  Mrs.  Herbert, 310 

Mazzinghi,  Joseph, 202,  203 

Mc  Granahan,  James,  308,  444,  452 

McKeever,  F.  G., vii 

McKiNLEY,Will'am, 151,  251 

Mc  Mullen,  Mr.  and  Mrs., 222 

Meek,  William  T., vii 

Medley,  Samuel, 136,  276 

Melancthon,  Philip, 69 

Mendelssohn,  Felix,  463,  482,  491 

Merriam,  Edmund  F., vii 

Merrill,  Abraham,  D., 269 

MiDLANE,  Albert, 445 

Miller,  James, 367 


MiLMAN,  Henry  Hart, 278 

Mills,   Elizabeth, 307 

Milton,  John, 461,  462 

Mohammed, 5 

Monk,  William   H.,..i6o,  219,   245 
Montgomery,   James,  21,   144, 
145,  176,  177,  285,  353,  480, 

487,   499' 521 

Moody,  Dwight   L.,   308,  310, 

4^1,4^6, 431 

Moore,  (More),  Joshua,4.  .267,  269 
Moore,  Thomas,  112,219,243, 

325-328, 333 

Morgan,  David, 392 

MoRNiNGTON,     Garret,     Colley 

Wellesley,  Earl  of 523 

MoRRis,  Robert, 260 

Morse,  Charles  H., 482 

Mote,  Edward, 216 

Mozart,  Johan  Wolfgang,  222, 

244, 327 

Muhlenberg,  Henry  M...158,  498 

Muhlenberg,  W.  A., 157,  158 

MuRiLLO,  Bartolomeo, 162 

Nageli,  Johan  G., 161,  162 

Napoleon, 97,  389 

Nares,  James, 95 

Neale,  John  M.,  6,  7,  55,  57, 

354,--- 512 

Nero,  (Emperor), 322 

Newell,  Harriet, 175 

Newman,  John  Henry,  223,  224,  524 
Newton,   John,   130,  203,  204, 

286,  386,  403,... 493 

Nicholson,  Ludovic, 201 

NovELLO,  Vincent, 73,  74 

Nutter,  Dr., 180 

Oakeley,  Frederick, 459 

Oakely,  Sir. Herberts., 252 

Oakey,  Emily, 434,  435 

OccuM,  Samson, 267-269,  279 

O^Kane,  Tullius  C, 437 

Oldcastle,  John, 379 

Oliver,  Henry  K., 104,  105 

Olivers,  Thomas,. .  .19,  20,  22,  504 
Osborne,  John, 146 

Paine ,  John  K ., 462 


548 


STORY  OF  THE   HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


Paine,  Robert  T., 335 

Palestrina,  jciv-xvi 

Palmer,  Horatio  R.,  261,  311, 

417, 450 

Palmer,  Ray, 59 

Parker,  Theodore, ix 

Parry,  Joseph, 395,  398 

Patrick,  St., 328 

Payne  John  Howard, 135 

Peloubet,  F.  N., 188 

Penry, , 381 

Perronet,  Edward,.  ..25,  27,  31,  59 

Phelps,  A. S, vii 

Phelps,  S.D 147 

Phelps,  W.  L., vii 

Philip,  "King", 265 

Phillips,  Phihp,  149,  150,  239, 
256,  267,  309,  333,  421,  531, 

53^ 534 

Phipps,  George, 188,   189 

Pierpont,  John, 335,  336 

PiNSUTi,   415 

Pleyel,  Ignace, 126,  208 

Pliny, 293 

Pope,  Alexander,  238,  326,  515,  516 

Powell,  John, 381 

Presbry,  Otis  F., 451,  452 

Price,  Dr., 41 

Price,  E.  M., 395 

Pritchard,  Rhys  M., 379,  396 

Proch,  Heinrich, 357 

PuRC ELL,  Henry, 338 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter, 76 

Rankin,  James, 3  62 

Rankin,  Jeremiah  E ., 496 

Ravenscro FT,  Thomas, 338 

Read,  Daniel, 407,  466 

Reading,   John, 205 

Redhead,  Richard, 50 

Redner,  Louis  H., 469 

Rees,  William, 402 

Reinagle,  Alexander  R., 87 

Rexford,  Eben  E., 439,  440 

Rhys,  Morgan, 404 

Richardson,  John, 76 

Ridley,  Bp., 4 

Riley,  Mary  Louise, 317 

RiMBAULT,  Edward  F., 282 

RjNCWALDT,  Bartholomew,. . .  .71,  73 


RippoN,  John, 27,  204,  281 

RiTTER,  Peter, 160 

Robert  ii,  (King), 57,  58,  60 

Roberts,  Evan, 377,  393,  394 

Roberts,  W.  M., 404 

Robinson,  Charles, 171,  179 

Robinson,  Robert, 283,  284 

RoMAiNE,  William, 31 

Roosevelt,  Theodore, 151 

Root,  George  F.,  155,  156,254, 

3iS»3i7»439. 444 

Rousseau,  J.  J., 112,  113 

RowE,  Elizabeth, 45 

Rowlands,  Daniel, 381,  387 

Rutherford,  Samuel, 78,  79,  81 

Salmon,  Thomas, 432 

Sanderson,  Mrs., 335 

Sankey,  Ira  D.,  184,  258,  308- 
3">  374)  375»  4i7,  421-423, 

434,438,447,.... 537 

ScHMOLKE,  Benjamin, *   499 

Schumann,  Robert, 87 

Scott,  Thomas, 226,  411 

Scott,  Sir  Walter, 240 

ScRiVEN,  Joseph, 425 

Seagrave,  Robert, 94 

Sears,  Edmund  H., 466 

Seneca, 320,  322 

Servoss,  Mary  Elizabeth,.  .442,  443 

Seward,  William  H., 257 

Shepherd,  Thomas, 411 

Sheridan,  Mrs.  Richard  Brins- 

ley, 244 

Shipley,  Dean, 178 

Shirley,  Sir  Walter,.  .127,  128,  202 

SiMAO,Portugalis, 206 

Simpson,  Robert, 298 

Singer,  Elizabeth, 45 

Smart,  Henry,  4,  5,  10,  137,  465,  525 

Smith,  Mrs.  Albert, 317 

Smith,   Alexander, 368 

Smith,  Goldwin, X 

Smith,  Isaac, 324 

Smith, John  Stafford, 335 

Smith,  Samuel  Francis,  180-182, 

337, 339 

Spafford,  Horatio  G., 440,  441 

Spohr,  L.,  126,  207,  227,  228, 

244, 488 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


549 


Stainer,  John, ....65,  66,  352,  474 
Stanley,    (Dean),    Arthur    P., 

65,   66, 148 

Stead,    William, 1 50,  151 

Stebbins,  George  C,  254,  308, 

375.   415. 528 

Steele,  Anna, 197 

Steffe,  John  W., 342 

St.  Fulbert, S9~6i 

Stennet,  Joseph, 23,  488 

Stennet,  Samuel, 23,  24 

Stephens, , 395 

Stephen,  (St.),  the  Sabaite, 57 

Sternhold,  Thomas, ..S 15,  16 

Stevenson,    , 327 

Stokes,   Walter, 84 

Storrs,  Richard  S., 35,  474 

Storrs,  Mrs.  R.  S., 474 

Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher, 481 

Stowell,  Hugh, 222,  223 

Staurt,  Charles  M., 34 

Sumner,  Janaziah, 330 

Swain,  Joseph, 28,  281 

Swan,  Jabez, 286 

Swan,  Timothy,  194,   195,  327,  506 

Tadolini,  Giovanni, 35? 

Tait,  Abp., 252 

Tallis,  Thomas, xv,  17, 18 

Tansur,  William, 282,  283 

Tarbutton,  W.A., 528 

Tate,  Nahum,  ,...12,  14,  193,  283 

Taylor,  Benjamin  F., 533 

Taylor,  James, 61 

Taylor,  Thomas  R., 300,  30I 

Taylor,  V.C, 52,  244 

Tennyson,  Alfred, 259,  538-54O 

Tersteegen,  Gerhard, 102 

Teschner,  Melchior, 8 

Theodulph,  Bp., 5,  6,  7 

Thomas  h  Kempis, 67 

Thomas  pi  Celano, 62,  63 

Th RING,  Godfrey, 371 

Thrupp,  Dorothy  A., 310 

Tomer,  William  G., 497 

TopLADY,  A.  M.,  137,  138,  517,    18 

TouRjEE,  Eben, 149,  150,  235 

TouRjEE,  Lizzie  S., 235 

Tours,  Berthold, 415 

Trajan,  (Emperor), 293 


Tyler,  Mrs.  Fanny, 28 

Ufford,  E.  S., 374,  376,  377 

Upham,  Thomas, 192 

Urhan,   Christian, 82 

Vail,  Silas  J., S..234,  235 

Van  Alstyne,  Mrs.,   156,  184, 

312,   4^5. 438 

Vernon,  (Admiral), 339 

Victoria,  (Queen), 391,  248,  252 

VoKES,  Mrs., 171,  173 

Voltaire, 43 

Von  Gluck, 490 

VonWeber, CM.,  121,338,490,  500 

Wade, , 102 

Walford,  William  W., 432 

Walther,  Johan, xvi 

Warner,  Anna, 418 

Washburn,  Henry  S., 245,  247 

Waters,  Horace, 303 

Watkins,  Jack  E., 390 

Watson,  Bp., 151 

Watson,  Richard, 120 

Watts,  Isaac,  14,  29,  33,  35,  37, 
40,  41-45,  47,  60,  105,  107- 
109,  133,  134,  165,  166,  167, 

243»  390.  403.  463,506, 513 

Wayland,  Francis, 42 

Webb,  George  J., 182,  444 

Webbe,  Samuel, 116,  505 

Webster,  Joseph  P., 535~537 

Wells,  G.  C, iil 

Wentworth,  (Gov.), 269 

Wesley,  Charles,  14,  26,  45,  47, 
94,  III,  118,  204,  274,  359- 
361,  388,  396,  403,  420,  463, 

474,  493, 5^0 

Wesley,  John,  14,  209,211,  273,  520 

Wesley,  Samuel, 45,  178 

Wesley,  Samuel  Sebastian,  45, 

177,  178,  304, 485 

Wheelock,  Eleazer, 267,  269 

White,  Henry  Kirke,  297,  364-366 
Whitefield,  George,  19,  31,  88, 

124,    132, 201 

Whiting,  William, 369,  370 

Whittier,  John  G., 250,  251 

Whittle,  D.W., 444 


550 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


William,  (King), 12,  13 

Williams,  Aaron, 130,  134 

Williams,  David, 405 

Williams,  Helen  M.,  125,  126,  206 
Williams,  Peter,  199,  201,  387,  389 
Williams,  Thomas,. .  .  393,  401,  403 
WiLLiAMS,William,  166-168,  199, 

381—386,  388,  396,  399>----  405 
Willis,  Richard  Storrs,. . .  .415,  467 

Willis,  Nathaniel, 467 

WiLus,  N.  P., 467 

Wilson,  Hugh, 353 

Winks,  W.E., 406 

WiNKWORTH,  Catherine, 84 

WooDBRiDGE,  William  C.,.  .338,  339 


Woodbury,  Isaac  B.,  iii,  183, 

244>   3»9» 407 

Woodman,  J,  C, 410,415 

Wood,  Sir   Evelyn, 368 

Wroth,  William, 379 

Wyeth,   John, 283,284 

Xavier,  Francis, 74 

Young,  Andrew, 304 

Zerrahn,  Carl, 444 

Zeuner,  Heinrich, 172,  241 

ZlNZENDORF,  (Count), 9I,  92 

ZuNDEL,  John, 363,  485 


INDEX  OF  TUNES, 


ABENDS, 252 

ABERYSTWITH, 395 

ABIDE  WITH   ME, 219 

AELRED, 372 

AIN, 38,39 

ALMOST  PERSUADED, 454 

ALSACE, 193 

ALL  SAINTS,  NEW, 513 

AMALAND, 465 

AMERICA, 336~339 

AMES, 34 

AMSTERDAM, 95,  96 

ANACREON  IN   HEAVEN, 334 

ANNAPOLIS, 507,  515 

ANTHEM  FOR  EASTER, 474 

ANTIOCH, 166,  464 

ANTIPHONALS, xU'l 

ANVERN, 520 

ARABIA, 388 

ARIEL, 137 

ARLINGTON, IO7,  I18,  515 

ATH  ENS, 227,  307 

AUDIENTES, 303 

AULD   LANG   SYNE, 515 

AURELIA, 177 

AUTUMN,  (Sardius), 222 

AZMON, 47*48 

BABEL, 388 

BALERMA, 297,  298 

BATTLE   HYMN   ETC., 34I~343 

BELMONT, 116 

BENEVENTO, 494 

BERLIN, 491 

BETHANY, 153,465 

BEYOND  THE  SMILING  AND  THE,  .     528 

BIRMINGHAM, I32 

BONNY    DOON, 367 

BOSWORTH, 105 

BOWER  OF  PRAYER,  THE I47 

BOWRING, 170 

B0TL8T0N, 133>  169,  523 


BRADEN, 276 

BRATTLE   STREET, I26,  207 

BREST, 505 

BRIGHT   CANAAN, 273,274 

BRIGHTON, 245 

BROKEN   PINION,  THE 254 

BROOKLYN, 485 

BROWN, 232 

BRUCE's  ADDRESS, 335,  336 

BRYMGFRYD, 388 

BUCKFIELD, 283 

BURIAL  OF  MRS.  JUDSON, 247 


CALM    ON    THE    LISTENING    EAR, 

(epiphany), 468 

CANAAN, 514 

CANONS, it 

CAPEL  Y   DDOL, 4O5 

CAROL, 467 

CATHARINE, 4O4 

CHESTER, 331*33^ 

CHINA, 194 

CHRISTMAS, 414,  466 

CLWYD, 393 

COLEBROOK, 137 

COLUMBIA, 332 

COME,    453 

COME,  MY   BRETHREN, 280 

COME,  YE   DISCONSOLATE, 221 

COME,  YE   FAITHFUL, 55 

CONSOLATION, 482 

CONVENTION  HYMN, 1 87 

CORONATION, ^7>  59 

CORSICA, 490 

COUNTERPOINT, XV 

CREATION, 40 

CRIMEA, 366 

CROSSING  THE   BAR, 539 

CRUCIFIXION, 5'4 

CWYFAN, 388 

CWYNFAN  PRYDIAN, 402 


551 


552 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES, 


DARBY, 403 

DEAD  MARCH  in" SAUL,'"'' 498 

DEDHAM, 48,  130 

DENMARK, 4I 

DENNIS, I33»'^* 

DEVONSHIRE, I05 

DEVOTION, 514 

DIES   IRA E, 65 

DORT, 187,  348,  481 

DUNBAR, 531 

DUNDEE, 194 

DUKE   STREET, 37,  1 66 

EASTER   ANTHEM, 474 

EBENEZER, 406 

EDEN  OF  LOVE, 272,273 

EDINA, 252 

EDOM, 401 

EIN  FESTE  BURG, 7I 

EIRINWG, 403 

ELLACOMBE, 177 

ELLIOTT, 215 

ELVY, 388 

EMMONS, 125 

EPIPHANY  (calm  ON  THE  USTEN- 

ing), 468 

ERNAN, 407 

ETERNITY, 449 

EUCHARIST, Ill 

EVAN, 227 

EVENING  SONG  TO  THE  VIRGIN,.  .  359 

EXCELSIUS, 96 

FAIR   HARVARD, 307 

FALMOUTH, 514 

FEDERAL   STREET, 104,105 

FITZWILLIAM, 4 

FOREVER  WITH  THE  LORD, 498 

FREDERICK, 158,498 

FROM  Greenland's  ICY, 179 

GANGES, 119,  269,  270 

GARDEN  HYMN,  THE, 277,278 

GENEVA, 115 

GOLDEN   HILL, 108,274 

GOD  BE  WITH   YOU, 497 

GOOD  MORNING  IN  GLORY, 164 

GOTT  1ST  LICHT, 463 

GREENVILLE, 1X2,  121 

GRIGGS, 102 


habaekuc, 212 

hail  columbia, 33i 

hallelujah!  'tis  done! 422 

hallowell, 283 

HAMBURG, Ill 

HANOVER, 204 

HAPPY  DAY, 282 

HAPPY   LAND, 3O4 

HAREWOOD, 485 

HARMONY, 514 

HARMONY  GROVE, I05 

HARVEST   HOME, 479 

HAYDN, 31 

HEBER, 102,318 

HE   LEADETH  ME, 236 

HELMSLEY, 505 

HENDON, 486 

HE  WILL  HIDE  ME,. 444 

HOLD  THE  FORT, 424,  432 

HOLLEY, 407,  483,  484 

HOLY  CROSS, 102 

HOLY,   HOLY,  HOLY, 5! 

HOLY  TRINITY, I02 

HOME  OF  THE  SOUL,  THE,.  .  .  .532,  533 

HOME,   SWEET   HOME, I35 

HORBURY, 152 

HOSANNA, 512 

HUDSON, 105 

HURSLEY, 160,493 

HYFRYDOL, 375 

i'm   GLAD  i'm  in  THIS  AR.MY, 299 

IMMANUEL's    BANNER, 188 

INDEPENDENCE, 332 

INNSBRUCK, 91 

IT  IS   WELL, 440 

(See  Index  of  Hymns) 

JAZER, 118 

JEWETT, 500 

JOYFULLY,  JOYFULLY, 289,290 

(See  Index  of  Hymns) 

KEBLE, 52 

Keller's  American  hymn,  433-445 

KENT, 105 

KENTUCKY, 274 

LABAN, 143 


INDEX  OF  TUNES. 


553 


LAMENT  OVER   BOSTON, 332 

LAND   AHEAD, 369 

LANESBORO, 36,  503 

U^  SPEZIA, 61 

LENOX, 395*476 

LEONI, 20 

LET  THE   LOWER   LIGHTS, 434 

USBON, 466 

LISCHER, 488 

LLANIETYN, 4O4 

LOUVAN, 52,  244 

LOVING-KINDNESS, 277 

LOWELL, 407 

LUCAS, 494 

Luther's  HYMN, 73 

LUX    BENIGNA, 224 

MAGDALEN, 35I 

MAGNIFICAT, i- xi,  xii,    lO 

MAITLAND, 4I2 

MAJESTY, 16 

MALVERN, 93 

MANOAH, 116 

MARSEILLAISE, 174,329,  352 

MASSACHUSETTS, 5I4 

MATTHIAS, 245 

MEAR, 130 

MELANCTHON, 496 

MELITA, 370 

MILTON, 243 

MENDELSSOHN, 463 

MERIBAH, 90,  91,   119,  395 

MERTON, 105,  519 

MESSIAH, 281 

MIDNIGHT  MASS, 460 

MIGDOL, 173 

MILLENNIAL   DAWN,.  .  .  .I77,   182,  477 

MISSIONARY   CHANT, I72,  29I 

MONSON, 232 

MONTGOMERY, 35 

MORECAMBE, 49I 

MORLAIX, 372 

MORNING, 105 

MORNING  GLORY, 5O4 

MORNINGTON, 523 

MOZART, 244 

MT.  AUBURN, 519 

MT.  VERNON, 498 

MT  AIN   COUNTREE, 456 

MY  BROTHER  I  WISH  YOU  WELL,.  .        9I 


MY  JESUS,  I  LOVE  THEE, 162,  163 

NANCY  JIG, 385 

NAOMI, 198 

NEALE, 355 

NEARER   HOME, 407,531 

NESTA, 404 

NETTLETON, 112,283,284 

NEW   DURHAM, 283 

NEW   JERUSALEM, 506,507 

NICAEA, 51 

NORTHFIELD, 506-508 

NORWICH, 207,462 

NOT  HALF  HAS   EVER  BEEN  TOLD,    45I 

NOTTINGHAM, 16 

NO  WAR  NOR  BATTLE  SOUND, 461 

OAK, 302 

ODE  ON   SCIENCE, 33O 

O    DO   NOT  BE   DISCOURAGED,.  .  .  .  299 

OLD    HUNDRED,  ivi,    I5,   4I,    166,  339 

OLMUTZ, 518 

OLD    SHIP    OF   ZION, 29O 

ONE    MORE    day's   WORK,   ETC.,..  418 

ONLY  REMEMBERED, 3O9 

ONWARD,     CHRISTIAN     SOLDIERS, 

56, 186 

O,  PERFECT  LOVE, 504 

ORTONVILLE, 2^ 

OVER  THERE, 436 

PALESTINE, 202 

PALM   BRANCHES, 47O 

PARADISE, ^l6 

PART-SONG, IV 

PASCHALE   GAUDIUM, 474 

PENTECOST, 513 

PETERBOROUGH, 48 

PILGRIM, 525 

PISGAH, 118 

PLAIN-SONG, xii,   10 

pleyel's  hymn, 280,411 

polyphonic, xv 

portland, 283,  488 

PORTUGUESE    HYMN,...205,    2o6,    460 

PRECIOUS    JEWELS, 315,   316 

president's   MARCH, 33! 

RAND    DE  VACHES, 35* 

RATHBUN, 99)^49 


554 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


RAVENDALE, 84 

RAYNHAM, 514 

REFUGE, 363 

REJOICE   AND    BE    GLAD, 415 

RESCUE   THE   PERISHING, 425 

REST, 499>5i3 

RESTORATION, 514 

RETREAT, 223 

RETROSPECT, 332 

REVIVE    THY    WORK, 445 

RHINE, 125 

RIVAULX, 104 

ROLLAND, 106,493 

ROCKINGHAM, 13! 

ROTTERDAM, 55 

RUSSIA, 466 

RUTHERFORD, 82 

SAFE   IN   THE   ARMS    OF   JESUS,.  .  54I 

SALEM, 123 

SAUSBURY  PLAIN, I05 

SAMSON, 166 

SARDIUS,  (autumn), 20I 

SAVANNAH, 238 

SAVIOUR,  LIKE  A  SHEPHERD,  3IO,  3II 

SAVIOUR,  PILOT  ME, 374 

SCALE,  THE, .xiii,  liv 

SCATTER    SEEDS    OF   KINDNESS,..  318 

SCHUM.\NN, 87 

SCOTS   WHA   HAE, 336 

SEQUENCES,  (foot  note), 8 

SHAWMUT, 407 

SHERBURNE, 466 

SICILY, 129,283 

SILOAM, 244,318,319 

SILVER    STREET, 324 

SIMPSON, 126 

SOMETHING    FOR    JESUS, I  48 

SONGS    OF    THE    BEAUTIFUL, 483 

SONNET, 287 

SOUND  THE  LOUD  TIMBRAL, 327 

SPEED  AWAY, 184 

SPOHR, 244 

STAFFORD, 466 

STAR-SPANGLED     BANNER,     THE, 

49. 333-335 

STATE  STREET, 4IO,  5I5 

ST.  AMBROSE, 296 

8T.  ANSELM,  (wc  plow  the  fields),  478 

ST.  ATHANASIU8, 59 


ST.   BERNARD, 75 

ST.  BOTOLPH, Z44 

ST.  CHAD, 50 

ST.   EDMUND, I  52 

ST.  GARMON, 395 

ST.  KEVIER, 307 

ST.  LOUIS, 469 

ST.  MAGNUS, 16 

ST.  PETERSBURG, 2I3 

ST.  PHILIP, 30 

ST.  THOMAS, 38,  134,  523 

STEPHENS, 28a 

STOWE, 482 

SUSSEX, 500 

SWEET  BY  AND  BY, 534-537 

SWEET  GAULEE, 26  1 ,  319 

SWEET    HOUR    OF   PRAYER, 432 

SWITZER's    SONG    OF    HOME,.  .  .  . 

TALLIS'   EVENING   HYMN,,  .ivi,   16,   IJ 

TE   DEUM, 1-4 

TELEMANN's  CHANT, 474 

THACH  ER, 109 

THE     BOWER     OF    PRAYER, I47 

THE  BROKEN   PINION, 254 

THE  CHARIOT, 279 

THE  DYING  CHRISTIAN, 516,  517 

THE    EDEN    OF    LOVE, 272,    273 

THE    GARDEN    HYMN, 277,    ^7^ 

THE    HARP    THAT    ONCE, 328 

THE  HEBREW  CHILDREN, 27I 

THE    HOME    OF   THE    SOUL,.. 532,    533 

THE  LAND   OF  THE   BLEST, 308 

THE   MORNING    LIGHT   IS    BREAK- 
ING,     177,      182, 477 

THE  NINETY  AND   NINE, 422 

THE    OLD,    OLD     STORY, 429 

THE  PRODIGAL  CHILD, 43O 

THE      SOLID      ROCK, 3I7 

THE    STAR-SPANGLED    BANNER,..     333 

THERE    IS    A    GREEN    HILL, 4I4 

THROW   OUT  THE   LIFE-LINE,.  .  .  .     374 

TH  YDIAN, 388 

TO   THE   WORK, 438,   480 

TOPLADY, 59,   142 

TRENCYNON, 395 

TRIUMPH   BY  AND    BY 45O 

TRURO, 241,  407 

TURNER, 282 


INDEX  OF  TUNES. 


555 


UXBRIDGE, 93 

VOX  ANGELICA, 525 

VOX   DILECTI, 238 

VOX   JESU, 227 

WAITING    AND    WATCHING, 443 

WALNUT     GROVE, I05 

WARD, 196,493 

WARE, 34 

WATCHMAN, I70 

WEBB, 177,  182 

WEIMAR, 9 

WELLS, 409 

WELLESLEY, 235 

WELTON, 486 

WE  SHALL  MEET, 529 

WHAT   A    FRIEND    WE    HAVE,....    425 
WHAT    SHALL   THE    HARVEST    BE, 

435, 436 

WHEN    JESUS    COMES, 437 


WHEN    PEACE    LIKE   A, 477 

WH  EN  SHALL  WE  ALL  MEET,  ....    266 
WHEN      THE      SWALLOWS      HOME- 
WARD  FLY, 364 

WHERE  ARE  THE  REAPERS,....  429 
WHERE  IS  MY  WANDERING  BOY,  446 
WHILE  THE  DAYS  ARE  GOING,.  ..  .     3I2 

WHITMAN, 146,  364 

WILMOT, 121,490 

WINDHAM, 407,466 

WINDSOR, 482 

WOODSTOCK, 232 

WOODWORTH, 215 

Y   DELYN  AUR, 405 

YORK, 462 

YOUR  MISSION, 259 

ZEPHYR, 513 

zioN,  (T.  Hastings), i68,  174 

zioN,  {A.  Hall), 514 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


A  CHARGE  TO  KEIP  I  HAVE, I74 

ABIDE  WITH  ME,  FAST  FALLS, 2I7 

ADAMS  AND   LIBERTY, 335 

ADESTE,   FIDELES, 458 

ALAS,  WHAT  HOURLY  DANGERS  RISE, I98 

ALL  GLORY,  LAUD  AND   HONOR, 5 

ALL  HAIL  THE  POWER  OF  JESUS'  NAME, ^$'^7 

ALL  PRAISE  TO  THEE,   ETERNAL  LORD, 8 

ALMOST  PERSUADED, 454 

ALONG    THE    BANKS    WHERE    BABEl's    CURRENT, 242,    243 

A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD, 69 

AND    IS    THIS    LIFE   PROLONGED   TO    YOU, 43 

AND     WILL    THE    JUDGE    DESCEND, 4IO 

ANGEL    OF    PEACE,    THOU    HAS    WAITED, 344 

ANGELS    ROLL   THE    ROCK   AWAY, 4I I 

ANOTHER     SIX     DAYS'     WORK    IS     DONE, 23,488 

A   POOR   WAYFARING   MAN    OF   GRIEF, 285 

ARISE,  MY   SOUL,  ARISE, 395 

ART  THOU   WEARY,  ART  THOU    LANGUID, 57 

AS    DOWN    IN   THE    SUNLESS    RETREATS, 243 

ASLEEP    IN   JESUS,    BLESSED    SLEEP, 499 

AT  ANCHOR    LAID    REMOTE   FROM    HOME, I38 

AVE,  MARIS    STELLA, 356 

AVE,    SANCTISSIMA, 357 

AWAKE   AND    SING   THE    SONG, 29 

AWAKE   MY    SOUL,    STRETCH    EVERY    NERVE, 4I3 

AWAKE,  MY    SOUL,  TO   JOYFUL  LAYS, 276,  277 

AWAKED    BY    SINAl's    AWFUL   SOUND, 267 

BATTLE   HYMN   OF  THE    REPUBLIC, 34O,  343 

BEFORE  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 40,  41 

BEGONE    UNBELIEF,    MY    SAVIOUR    IS    NEAR, 203 

BEHOLD    THE    GLORIES    OF    THE    LAMB, 42 

BEHOLD,  THE   STONE   IS    ROLLED  AWAY, 45I 

BE   THOU    EXALTED,   O    MY    GOD, 4O 

BE   THOU,   O    GOD,    EXALTED    HIGH, Ill 

BEYOND  THE  SMILING  AND  THE  WEEPING, 527 

BLEST    BE   THE   TIE   THAT    BINDS, I32 

BLOW    YE   THE   TRUMPET,    BLOW, 395 

BREAD    OF   HEAVEN,   ON   THEE   WE    FEED, 489 

BRETHREN,   WHILE   WE    SOJOURN    HERE, 280 

BRIGHTLY    BEAMS    THE    FATHEr's    MERCY, 43I 

BUILD    THEE    MORE    STATELY    MANSIONS, 249 

BY    COOL    SILOAM's    SHADY    RILL, 318 

BY   THE   RUDE    BRIDGE  THAT  ARCHED   THE    FLOOD, 339 

656 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS.  557 

calvary's  blood  the  weak  exalteth, 385 

child  of  sin  and  sorrow, 2z3 

christians,  if  your  hearts  are  warm, 274,  275 

christ  is  our  corner  stone, 485 

CHRIST   IS    risen!     CHRIST   IS    RISEn! 473 

CHRIST   THE    LORD    IS    RISEN   TODAY, 474 

COME    HITHER,  ALL   YE   WEARY    SOULS, 4O9 

COME    HITHER,    YE    FAITHFUL, 459 

COME,    HOLY    GHOST,   IN    LOVE, 59 

COME,    HOLY    SPIRIT,    HEAVENLY    DOVE, 282 

COME    HOME,    COME    HOME, 43O 

COME,    LET    US    ANEW, 494 

COME,    MY    BRETHREN,    LET    US    TRY, 279 

COME,    SINNER,    COME, 4I7 

COME,    THOU    FOUNT    OF    EVERY    BLESSING, 283,  284 

COME,   THOU    HOLY    SPIRIT,   COME, 58 

COME  TO   JESUS   JUST  NOW, 29I 

COME   UNTO   ME   WHEN    SHADOWS, 2o8,  2O9 

COME,  WE  THAT  LOVE  THE  LORD, 37>   38 

COME,  YE  DISCONSOLATE, 219,  220,  326 

COME,   YE   FAITHFUL,   RAISE  THE   STAIN, 54 

COME,    YK    SINNERS,   POOR    AND    NEEDY, 119 

COMMIT    THOU    ALL    THY    GRIEFS 84-85 

CROWN    HIS    HEAD    WITH     ENDLESS    BLESSING, 30 

DAUGHTER    OF   ZION,    FROM    THE    DUST, 486,  489 

DAY  OF  wrath!    THAT  DAY  OF  BURNING, 62-64 

DEAR   JESUS,    EVER   AT   MY    SIDE, 3O2 

DEAR    REFUGE   OF   MY   WEARY    SOUL, ,     I96 

DID   CHRIST  o'er   SINNERS   WEEP, 1 60,   161 

DIE    FELDER    WIR    PFLUGEN, 478 

DIES   IRAE,   DIES   ILLA, 62-64 

EARLY,   MY    GOD,   WITHOUT    DELAY, 35 

EARLY  TO   BEAR   THE   YOKE    EXCELS, 4OI 

EIN    FESTE   BURG   1ST   UNSER    GOTT, 69 

ETERNAL   FATHER,    STRONG   TO    SAVE, 369 

FADING  AWAY   LIKE  THE    STARS, 309 

FATHER,  WHATEVER  OF  EARTHLY  BLISS, I96 

FEAR  NOT,  O  LITTLE  FLOCK,  THE  FOE, 82 

FIERCE    RAGED    THE    TEMPEST, 372 

FIERCE   WAS    THE    WILD    BILLOW, 354 

FOREVER    WITH    THE    LORD, 521 

FROM    EVERY    STORMY    WIND, 222 

FROM    Greenland's    icy    mountains, 178,  179 

FROM   WHENCE    DOTH    THIS    UNION   ARISE, 263 

FULLY  PERSUADED, 45I 

GAUDE,   PLAUDE,   MAGDALENA, 47» 


558 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


GIVE  ME  MY   SCALLOP-SHELL  OF  QUIET, 76 

GIVE   TO   THE   WINDS   THY    FEARS, 88 

GLORIA, lii 

GLORY  TO  THEE,  MY  GOD,  THIS  NIGHT, Xvi,  16 

GOD   BE  WITH    YOU   TILL  WE  MEET, 496 

GOD    BLESS    OUR   NATIVE   LAND, 347,  348 

GOD     CALUNG     YET? lOZ,  I03 

GOD  IS  THE  REFUGE  OF  HIS  SAINTS, I96 

GOD  OF  OUR  FATHERS,  KNOWN  OF  OLD, 349,  350 

god's    furnace    doth    in   ZION    STAND, 89 

GREAT  AUTHOR    OF    SALVATION, 398 

great  god,  we  SING  THAT  MIGHTY  HAND, 496 

GREAT   GOD,   WHAT   DO   I    SEE  AND    HEAr! 7I 

GUIDE  ME,  O  THOU  GREAT  JEHOVAH, I98,  399 

HAIL    COLUMBIA,    HAPPY    LAND, 33I 

HAIL  TO   THE   LORd's  ANOINTED, I75 

HALLELUJAH !      'tIS    DONe! 422 

hark!    hark,  my  soul! 524 

hark!    the  herald  ANGELS  SING, 463 

hark!    what  mean  those  holy  VOICES, 464 

hasten,   lord,  the   GLORIOUS   TIME, 168 

HASTEN,  SINNER,  TO   BE  WISE, 4IO 

HE  dies!     the  FRIEND   OF  SINNERS, 473 

HE     LEADETH     ME, 235,  236 

HERE  AT  THY  TABLE,  LORD,  WE  MEET, 24 

HERE   BEHOLD   THE  TENT  OF   MEETING, 396 

HERE,  O  MY  GOD,  I  SEE  THEE, 49O 

HE  rose!    o  MORN  OF  wonder! 477 

HIGH  THE  ANGEL  CHOIRS  ARE   RAISING, 68 

HOLY,  HOLY,  HOLY,  LORD   GOD, 50>  5' 

HO,  MY  COMRADES,  SEE  THE  SIGNAL, 424 

HORA    NOVISSIMA, 51O 

HOW    FIRM    A    FOUNDATION, 204,  2o6 

HOW  HAPPY  IS  THE  CHILD  WHO  HEARS, 297 

HOW   HAPPY   IS   THE   PILGRIM's   LOT, 207 

HOW  SWEETLY  FLOWED  THE  GOSPEL  SOUND, 98 

HOW  SWEET,  HOW  HEAVENLY  IS  THE  SIGHT, 281 

HOW  SWEET  THE  COVENANT  TO    REMEMBER, 396 

HOW,  UNAPPROACHEd!    shall  MIND  OF  MAN, 56 

HOW  VAIN  ARE  ALL  THINGS    HERE   BELOW, 45 

HOW  VAST  A  TREASURE  WE  POSSESS, 43 

1  AM  FAR  FRAE  MY  HAME, 445 

1   AM    SO    GLAD   THAT   OUR   FATHER, 319 

I    CANNOT   ALWAYS    TRACE   THE   WAY 502 

IF  I  WERE  A  VOICE, 182 

IF  THOU   WOULDST   END   THE  WORLD, 389 

IF    YOU    CANNOT    ON    THE    OCEAN, 256-258 

«  CAVE  MY  Urr  FOR  THEI, 154 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS.  559 


I    HAVE   A    FATHtR, 305 

1  have  read  of  a  beautiful  city, 45i 

i   hear  the  saviour  say, 426 

i  heard  the  voice  of  jesus  say, 225-227 

I'll  cast  my  heavy  burden  down, 384 

i  love  thy  kingdom,  lord, i33 

i  love  to  steal  awhile  away, 229,  23  i 

i  love  to  tell  the  story, 429 

i\m   a   pilgrim, 278,  288 

i'm    BUT  A    STRANGER    HERE, 3OO,  3OI 

I'm    GOING    HOME, 29I 

i\m  NOT  ASHAMED, IO7 

IN    DE    DARK    WOOD, 264 

IN   EDEN,  O  THE  MEMORy! 383 

I    NEED   THEE    EVERY    HOUR, I53 

IN   SOME  WAY  OR  OTHER, I48,  I49 

IN   THE    BONDS    OF    DEATH    HE   LAY, 473 

IN   THE   CROSS   OF   CHRIST   I    GLORY, 97 

IN    THE    DEEP    AND    MIGHTY    WATERS, 406 

IN    THE   WAVES    AND    MIGHTY   WATERS, 4O5 

I    OPEN   MY    EYES   TO   THIS   VISION, 4O4 

IS    THIS    THE    KIND    RETURN? I08 

IT    CAME    UPON    THE    MIDNIGHT    CLEAR, 466 

I   THINK  WHEN   I    READ   THAT   SWEET, 305 

IT   MAY    NOT    BE    OUR    LOT   TO    WIELD, 25O 

IT    WAS    THE    WINTER    WILD, 460 

I  WALKED  IN  THE  WOODLAND  MEADOWS, 25I,  2^Z 

I   WILL  SING  YOU  A   SONG  OF  THAT, 532 

JERUSALEM  THE  GOLDEN, 509,  51I 

JESU,  DULCIS   MEMORIA, I  OO 

JESUS'    BLOOD   CAN    RAISE   THE   FEEBLE, 385 

JESUS,  I   LOVE  THY   CHARMING   NAME, I16 

JESUS,  I   MY  CROSS    HAVE  TAKEN, 221 

JESUS,   KEEP   ME  NEAR  THE  CROSS, I56,   1 57 

JESUS,  LOVER  OF  MY  SOUL, 359~364 

JESUS  MY  ALL  TO   HEAVEN  IS   GONE, I26 

JESUS,    SAVIOUR,    PILOT    ME, 373 

JESUS    SHALL   REIGN   WHERe'eR  THE   SUN, 165 

JESUS,  THE  VERY  THOUGHT  OF  THEE, lOO 

JESUS   THE   WATER   OF   LIFE   WILL   GIVE, 312 

JESUS,  THY  BLOOD  AND  RIGHTEOUSNESS, 9I 

JOHN   Wesley's    hymn, 209 

JOYFULLY,     JOYFULLY     ONWARD, 288-29O 

JOY  TO  THE  world!    THE  LORD  IS  COME, 166,  463 

KEEP   ME   VERT   NEAR  TO    JESUS, 4OO 

Keller's    American    hymn, 343,  345 

LAND    ahead!     the    FRUITS   ARE   WAVING, 367 


56c 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


LEAD,  KINDLY  LIGHT, 223 

LET   PARTY   NAMES    NO    MORE, 169 

LET   TYRANTS    SHAKE   THEIR    IRON    ROD, 33I 

LET    US    GATHER    UP   THE    SUNBEAMS, 317 

LET   US    SING  OF  THE   SHEAVES, 479 

LIFE  IS  THE  TIME  TO  SERVE  THE  LORD, 4O9 

LITTLE    TRAVELLERS     ZIONWARD, 299 

LO!     A    SAVIOUR    FOR   THE    FALLEN, 4O4 

LO!    HE    COMES,   WITH    CLOUDS    DESCENDING, 504 

Lo!     ON  A  NARROW  NECK  OF  LAND, Il8 

Lo!     WHAT  A    GLORIOUS    SIGHT  APPEARS, 505 

LORD,   HOW   MYSTERIOUS   ARE  THY   WAYS, I98 

LORD    OF   ALL   BEING,  THRONED   AFAR, 52 

LORD,    WITH    GLOWING    HEART    i'd    PRAISE, 49,  50 

LOVE    DIVINE,    ALL    LOVES     EXCELLING, 47j  HI 

LOVE    UNFATHOMED    AS    THE    OCEAN, 4OI 

MAGDALENA,    SHOUT    FOR    GLADNESS, 473 

MAGNIFICAT     ANIMA     MEA, xii,    lO 

MAJESTIC  SWEETNESS  SITS   ENTHRONED, 23 

MARSEILLAISE  HYMN, I74,  329,  352 

MEIN   JESU,   WIE    DU    WILLST, 499 

MID     SCENES    OF    CONFUSION, I34 

MINE  EYES   HAVE  SEEN  THE  GLORY  OF  THE, 34I 

MOURNFULLY,  TENDERLY  BEAR  ON  THE  DEAD, 245,  246 

MUST  JESUS   BEAR  THE  CROSS  ALONE, 4H 

MY  BROTHER,  I  WISH   YOU   WELL, 29O 

MY  COUNTRY    'tIS   OF  THEE, 33^~3i^ 

MY  GOD,  HOW  ENDLESS  IS  THY  LOVE, IO5,    I06 

MY  GOD,  I  LOVE  THEE,  NOT  BECAUSE 75 

MY  GOD,  IS  ANY  HOUR   SO   SWEET, 2I4 

MY    GOD,   MY    FATHER,   WHILE   I    STRAY, 2I4 

MY   GOD,  MY  PORTION  AND   MY   LOVE, 382 

MY    GRACIOUS    REDEEMER,   I    LOVE, I32 

MY  HOPE  IS   BUILT  ON  NOTHING  LESS, 2l6,  217 

MY  JESUS,  AS   THOU   WILT, 499,  5OO 

MY    JESUS,    I    LOVE    THEE, 162,   163 

MY  LORD  AND   MY   GOD,  I   HAVE  TRUSTED, 77 

MY   LORD,   HOW   FULL  OF   SWEET  CONTENT, I90,   I92 

MY    SAVIOUR    KEEPS    ME    COMPANY, 189 

MY   SOUL,  BEHOLD   THE  FITNESS, 397 

NEARER,    MY    GOD,   TO    THEE, I5O-I52 

NO   CHANGE   OF  TIME   SHALL   EVER   SHOCK, I93 

NOT  ALL  THE   BLOOD   OF   BEASTS, 44 

NOW  TO  THE  LORD  A  NOBLE  SONG, 33 

O  BLISS  OF  THE  PURIFIED, 433 

O   CANAAN,  BRIGHT  CANAAN, 273 

O    CHURCH,    ARISE    AND     SING, 186 

O    COME,  ALL    YE    FAITHFUL, 459 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS.  561 

O  COULD  1   SPEAK  THE  MATCHLESS  WORTH, I36 

O    CROWN    OF     REJOICING, 45I 

ODE   ON   SCIENCE, 33O 

O    DEUS,    EGO   AMO   TE, 74 

O   DO  NOT  BE  DISCOURAGED, 298 

O'^ER   ALL  THE   WAY    GREEN   PALMS, 47O 

o'er  the  gloomy   HII.LS   of   DARKNESS, 166 

O    FOR   A   CLOSER   WALK   WITH    GOD, I29 

O   FOR  A  THOUSAND  TONGUES  TO   SING, 45,  46 

OFT  IN  DANGER,  OFT  IN  WO, 366 

O    GAULEE,    SWEET    GALILEE, 260,  319 

O    HAD   I  TH  E   WINGS    OF  A   DOVE, 4OO 

O    HAPPY    DAY    THAT    FIXED    MY   CHOICE 281 

O    HAPPY    SAINTS    THAT    DWELL  IN   LIGHT 122 

O    HELP    US,   lord;     each    HOUR   OF   NEED, 278 

O    HOW   HAPPY  ARE  THEY, 281 

O    HOW   I    LOVE   JESUS, 29I 

O    LITTLE  TOWN   OF   BETHLEHEM, 468 

O   LORD   OF   HOSTS,  WHOSE  GLORY  FILLS, 485 

ONE  MORE  day's  WORK  FOR  JESUS, 418 

ONE    SWEETLY     SOLEMN    THOUGHT, 529 

ON  jordan'stormy  banks, 24 

ONLY   REMEMBERED, 308 

ON  THE  MOUNTAIN  TOP  APPEARING I73 

onward,  CHRISTIAN   SOLDIERS, 185,   186 

ONWARD    RIDE    IN    TRIUMPH,    JESUS, 382 

o  paradise!    o  paradise! 525 

O    PERFECT    LOVE, 504 

O    SACRED    HEAD,    NOW    WOUNDED, 86 

O    SING    TO    ME    OF    HEAVEN, .  288 

O  THE  CLANGING  BELLS  OF  TIME, 449 

O  THE  LAMB,  THE   LOVING  LAMB, 27I 

O  THINK  OF  THE   HOME  OVER  THERE, 463 

O  THOU   IN  WHOSE  PRESENCE  MY   SOUL, 28l 

O  THOU,  MY   SOUL,  FORGET  NO   MORE, 492 

O   THOU    WHO    DIDST   PREPARE, 361 

O  THOU   WHO   DRy'sT   THE  MOURNER's  TEAR, 244 

O  THOU   WHOSE  TENDER   MERCY   HEARS, 198 

O  TURN  YE,  O  TURN  YE,  FOR  WHY, 29I 

OUR    LORD    HAS    GONE    UP    ON    HIGH, 473 

O  WHEN  SHALL  I  SEE  JESUS, 276 

O   WHERE   SHALL   REST   BE   FOUND, I45 

O  WHY  SHOULD  THE  SPIRIT  OF  MORTAL, 238 

O  WORSHIP  THE  KING  ALL  GLORIOUS  ABOVE, 2Z 


PARTED   MANY  A  TOIL-SPENT  YEAR, 267 

PATIENTLY    ENDURING, 443 

PEACE,  TROUBLED    SOUL,  WHOSE   PLAINTIVE, 202 

PEOPLE   OF   THE    LIVING    GOD, 1 44 

PILGRIMS  WE  ARE  TO  ZION  BOUND, 281 


562 


STORY  OF  THE  HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


PORTALS    OF    LIGHT, 443 

PRAISE   GOD    FROM   WHOM  ALL  BLESSINGS, I3 

FULL    FOR    THE    SHORE, 372 

REJOICE  AND    BE   GIj\D, 4I5 

RESCUE    THE    PERISHING, 425 

REVIVE  THY  WORK,  O  LORD, 445 

RISE,    CROWNED    WITH     LIGHT, 238 

RISE,  MY  SOUL,  AND  STRETCH  THY  WINGS, 94 

ROCK  OF  AGES,  CLEFT  FOR  ME, I37 

SAFE    IN   THE  ARMS    OF   JESUS, 54O 

SANCTIFY,  O   LORD,  MY   SPIRIT, 405 

SAVIOUR,    LIKE   A    SHEPHERD    LEAD    US, 3IO 

SAVIOUR,   THY    DYING    LOVE, I47 

SCATTER    SEEDS    OF   KINDNESS, 317 

SCOTS    WHA    HAE    WI    WALLACE    BLED, 335,  352 

SEE    GENTLE    PATIENCE    SMILE   ON   PAIN, IO4 

SEND  THY   SPIRIT,  I   BESEECH  THEE, 406 

SERVANT  OF  GOD,  WELL  DONE, 498 

SHEPHERD     OF    TENDER    YOUTH, 293-296 

SHOW   PITY,   LORD,   O    LORD    FORGIVE, 44 

SH  RINKING   FROM  THE  COLD   HAND  OF  DEATH, 52O 

SINCE   JESUS    TRULY    DID   APPEAR, 503 

SISTER,  THOU   WAST  MILD  AND   LOVELY, 498 

SO   FADES   THE   LOVELY,  BLOOMING  FLOWER, IO4,    1 98,    498 

SOFTLY  FADES  THE  TWIUGHT  RAY, 484 

SOFTLY  NOW  THE  LIGHT  OF  DAY, 483 

SOON  MAY  THE  LAST  GLAD   SONG  ARISE, I73 

SOUND    THE    LOUD    TIMBREL, 326,    327 

SPEAK,   O    SPEAK,  THOU    GENTLE  JESUS, 386 

SPEED   AWAY,    SPEED    AWAY, 184 

SPIRIT   OF    GRACE   AND    LOVE    DIVINE, 4O3 

stand!    the  ground's  YOUR  OWN, 335 

STAR-SPANGLED    BANNER, 49,   333~335 

STILL,   STILL   WITH    THEE, 481 

SUN  OF  MY  SOUL,  MY  SAVIOUR   DEAR, I59 

SUNSET   AND    EVENING    STAR, 535 

SUR    NOS    CHEMINS    LES    RAMEAUX, 47O 

SWEET   HOUR   OF  PRAYER, 432 

SWEET  IS  THE   DAY  OF  SACRED   REST, 488 

SWEET  IS  THE  LIGHT  OF  SABBATH    EVE, 488 

SWEET  IS  WORK,  MY  GOD,  MY  KING, 37 

SWEET  IS  THE  WORK,  O   LORD, 168 

SWEET  THE  MOMENTS,  RICH   IN  BLESSING, I27 

TAKE  ME  AS   I  AM,  O   SAVIOUR, 384 

TE   DEUM   LAUDAMUS, I 

TELL  ME   NOT   IN    MOURNFUL   NUMBERS, 248 

TELL  ME  THE  OLD,  OLD   STORY, 427 

THE   BANNER   OF   IMMANUEL, 188,189 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS.  563 


THE   BIRD   LET  LOOSE   IN   EASTERN   SKIES, 244 

THE    BREAKING    WAVES    DASHED    HIGH, 323 

THE    chariot!     THE    CHARIOt! 278 

THE    DAY   IS   PAST  AND    GONE, 275 

THE    DAY    OF    RESSURRECTION, 54,   55 

THE     EDEN    OF    LOVE, 272 

THE   GLORY    IS    COMING,    GOD    SAID    IT, 4OO 

THE   GOD    OF   ABRAHAM    PRAISE, 18 

THE   GOD   OF    HARVEST    PRAISE, 481 

THE    HARP    THAT    ONCE    THRO    TARA's    HALL, 326,  328 

THE  HEIGHTS  OF  FAIR  SALEM  ASCENDED, 403 

THE    LORD    DESCENDED    FROM    ABOVE, I5 

THE    LORD    INTO    HIS    GARDEN    COMES, 277 

THE    LORD    IS    RISEN    INDEED, 475 

THE   LORD   OUR   GOD    IS    CLOTHED   WITH   MIGHT, 366 

THE    MORNING    LIGHT    IS     BREAKING, I79,  180 

THE   OCEAN    HATH    NO    DANGER, 37I 

THE  PRIZE   IS    SET   BEFORE    US, 449 

THE    SANDS    OF   TIME   ARE    SINKING, 78 

THE  TURF   SHALL  BE  MY   FRAGRANT   SHRINE, 244 

THE    WORLD    IS    VERY    EVIL, 5IO 

THERE    ARE    LONELY    HEARTS    TO    CHERISH, 312 

THERE   IS   A   CALM    FOR   THOSE   WHO   WEEP, 499,  52I 

THERE   IS   A   GREEN    HILL   FAR  AWAY, 4I4 

THERE  IS   A   HAPPY   LAND, 304 

there's  a   LAND   THAT  IS   FAIRER  THAN   DAY, 532 

there's    a    WIDENESS    IN     god's    MERCY, 233,234 

THERE   WERE    NINETY    AND    NINE, 422 

they  that   DWELL   UPON   THE    DEEP, 353 

THINE    EARTHLY    SABBATHS,    LORD,   WE    LOVE, ,  .  488 

THOU  ART,  O    GOD,  THE    LIFE  AND   LIGHT, 244 

THOU     DEAR     REDEEMER,     DYING     LAMB, I24 

THOU   LOVELY   SOURCE   OF  TRUE   DELIGHT, I98 

THROW      OUT      THE      LIFE-LINE, 374~377 

'tis  finished!     so  THE  SAVIOUR  CRIED, 24 

*TIS    RELIGION   THAT   CAN    GIVE, 3O3 

TO  CHRIST  THE   LORD   LET  EVERY  TONGUE, 25 

TO    GOD   THE    FATHER,    GOD   THE    SON, 1 4 

TO   LEAVE   MY   DEAR   FRIENDS,  AND   FROM  NEIGHBORS, I46 

TO  THE  WORK,  TO  THE  WORk! 438 

TOO  late!    TOO   l.\te! 259 

TRIUMPHANT    ZION,    LIFT   THY    HEAD, 519 

ULTIMA     THULE, 32O 

UNDER  THE  PALMS, 254 

UNNUMBERED    ARE    THE    MARVELS, 4O2 

UNTO   THY   PRESENCE   COMING, 392 

UNVEIL   THY    BOSOM    FAITHFUL  TOMB, 44,  498 

UP  AND  AWAY  LIKE  THE  DEW, 308 

URBS    5I0N   AUREA, 509,  5II 


564 


STORY  OF  THE   HYMNS  AND  TUNES. 


VENI,     SANCTF.     SPIRITUS, 57,   58 

VERZAGE    NICHT,    DU    HAUFLEIN    KLEIN, §2 

VITAL  SPARK  OF  HEAVENLY  FLAME, 515 

WATCHMAN,  TELL   US   OF  THE   NIGHT, I7O 

Wr;  ARE  ON  OUR  JOURNEY   HOME, 4I7 

WELCOME,     DELIGHTFUL    MORN, 488 

WE  PLOW  THE   FIELDS  AND    SCATTER, 478 

WE  PRAISE  THEE,  O  GOD,  FOR  THE  SON, 416 

WE   SAT   DOWN  AND   WEPT   BY  THE  WATERS, 24I 

WE  SHALL  MEET  BEYOND  THE  RIVER, 528 

WE  SPEAK  OF  THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLEST, 307 

WESTWARD   THE   COURSE    OF    EMPIRE, 324 

WHAT  A    FRIEND    WE   HAVE   IN   JESUS, 425 

WHAT  SHALL  A   DYING   SINNER   DO, 43 

WHAT    SHALL   THE    HARVEST   BE, 434 

WHAT  VARIOUS    HINDRANCES   WE  MEET, I3I 

WHEN  ALL  THY   MERCIES,   O   MY   GOD, II3 

WHEN    FOR    ETERNAL   WORLDS    I    STEER, 286 

WHEN   HE  COMETH,  WHEN    HE   COMETH, 3I4 

WHEN  I   CAN   READ  MY  TITLE  CLEAR, 43,  514 

WHEN   GATHERING  CLOUDS   AROUND  I  VIEW, 212 

WHEN   ISRAEL  OF  THE   LORD    BELOVED, 24O 

WHEN  I   SURVEY  THE  WONDROUS   CROSS, 42,  I09 

WHEN  LANGUOR  AND    DISEASE   INVADE, I37 

WHEN   MARSHALLED    ON   THE    NIGHTLY   PLAIN, 364 

WHEN    MY    FINAL    FAREWELL    TO    THE    WORLD, 441,442 

WHEN  OUR  HEADS  ARE  BOWED  WITH   WO, 278 

WHEN   PEACE    LIKE   A    RIVER, 44O 

WHEN    SHALL  WE  ALL  MEET  AGAIN, 265,  266 

WHEN  TWO  OR  THREE  WITH   SWEET  ACCORD, 24 

WHERE    IS    MY    WAND'rING    BOY    TO-NIGHT? 446 

WHERE  NOW  ARE  THE   HEBREW  CHILDREN  ? 27O 

WHILE  JESUS  WHISPERS  TO  YOU, 418 

WHILE    SHEPHERDS    WATCHED    THEIR    FLOCKS, 465 

WHILE  THEE  I    SEEK,  PROTECTING  POWER, 207 

WHILE  WITH  CEASELESS  COURSE  THE  SUN, 493 

WHY  SHOULD  WE  START  AND   FEAR  TO   DIE, 512 

WIDE,   YE   HEAVENLY   GATES    UNFOLD, 1 68 

WITH  JOY  WE  HAIL  THE  SACRED   DAY, 168 

WITH    SONGS  AND    HONORS    SOUNDING   LOUD, 479 

WITH  TEARFUL  EYES  I  LOOK  AROUND, 2I4 

YE    CHOIRS    OF    NEW    JERUSALEM, 59»  ^ 

YE    CHRISTIAN    HERALDS,    GO    PROCLAIM, I7I,  I?* 

YE  CHRISTIAN  HEROES,  WAKE  TO  GLORY, 174 

YE    GOLDEN    LAMPS    OF    HEAVEN,    FAREWELL, 5^9 

YE  SERVANTS  OF  GOD,  YOUR  MASTER  PROCLAIM, 204 

TES,  MY  NATIVE   LAND,  I    LOVE  THEE, 1 80 

TES,  THE   REDEEMER   ROSE, 47^ 

yOUR   HARPS,  YE  TREMBLING   SAINTS, 5'7 


\ 


A  HARMONY  of  the  GOSPELS 

in  the  tt)ords  of  the 

fetanbarb  American  iRebfeeb  JBftle 

"By 
RE:V.  JOHN   H.  KEIRR,  D.D. 

Author  of  "Introduction  to  New  Teitament  Study" 
xxiii.  236  Pages  Sm.  4to.,  cloth  Price,  $1.00 


"The  book  fills  a  place  where  careful  work  is  now  much 
needed." — Christian  Intelligencer. 

"The  book  will  be  found  a  very  valuable  assistance." — 
The  Bible  Studenf. 

"The  work  has  special  excellence  in  its  carefulness  of 
arrangement,  historical  accuracy  and  thoughtful  discrimina- 
tion."— Herald  and  Prcsbvter. 

"  Whatever  other  work  of  this  kind  the  student  may  have, 
it  will  be  well  to  add  this  one." — Pittsburg  Christian  Advo- 
cate. 

"Careful  students  of  Christ's  life  will  appreciate  this 
systematic  presentation  of  the  narrative  materials." — Aubicrn 
Seminary  Review. 

"The  work  is  admirably  done." — Western  Recorder. 

"  The  average  Bible  reader  will  find  it  a  great  aid  in 
following  the  Bible  narrative,  and  the  student  who  wants  the 
latest  and  best  will  buy  this  book." — The  Watchword. 

"  A  creditable  piece  of  work.  The  mechanical  arrange- 
ment of  the  text  is  noteworthy." — Sunday  School  Work. 

"A  valuable  and  welcome  help." — The  Lutheran  Stan- 
dard. 

"  By  following  this  scheme  carefully  one  can  at  once  see 
which  Gospels  have  and  which  have  not  any  matter  in  any 
given  section  and  how  that  matter  corresponds.  This  will 
prove  a  very  helpful  device." — Interior. 

"  For  a  busy  person  who  cannot  spend  a  great  deal  of 
time  in  looking  up  references,  the  book  will  prove  a  valuable 
aid,  and  for  Bible  study  in  classes  as  a  text  book  it  will  be 
found  excellent." — Presbyterian  Banner. 

"  This  Harmony  will  take  its  place  among  the  best  of  the 
Harmonies." — The  Baptist  Argus. 

"  Admirable  for  the  use  of  thorough-going  Bible  students." 
—  Christian  Endeavor  World. 


A  History  of  American  Revivals 

By 
FRANK  GRENVILLE  BEARDSLEY,  S.T.D. 

I2MO,  324  Pages,  Cloth  Prick,  $1.50 


"A  very  interesting,  timely  and  helpful  book.'' — Western 
Recorder. 

"A  book  of  this  sort  is  worth  circulating  among  those 
who  think  the  revival  is  a  thing  of  nought." — Cumberland 
Presbyterian. 

"  A  lively  narrative  of  great  interest  .  .  .  well  worth 
reading,  and  useful  in  putting  a  characteristic  phase  of 
Christianity  in  America  in  good  perspective,  with  its  facts 
made  readily  available  by  a  good  index." — Congregationalist. 

**  His  appreciative  study  of  methods  that  have  brought 
success  in  the  past  should  prove  stimulating." — Public 
Opinion. 

**  An  exceedingly  convenient  compendium  of  information 
on  evangelistic  movements  in  the  United  States." — The 
Watchman. 

"  It  is  profoundly  interesting  and  spiritually  stimulating 
to  read  this  story  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  deeper  movements  in 
the  churches  of  our  land." — N".  T.  Observer. 

"  Both  ministers  and  laymen  who  may  have  been  stirred 
up  to  trace  the  evangelistic  idea  to  its  origin  and  to  study  its 
earlier  successes,  will  find  this  volume  amply  worthy  of  a 
reading." — The  Interior. 

*'  Simply  and  devoutly  the  history  of  the  great  revivals  in 
our  country  is  given  here.  The  book  is  quite  timely  just  now 
while  there  is  so  much  interest  in  evangelistic  work,  and  it 
will  be  welcomed  warmly." — Herald  and  Presbyter. 

"On  the  pages  of  this  book  is  found  what  every  student 
of  church  history  will  welcome." — Pacific  Presbyterian. 


The  Teachings  of  Jesus 

A  Series  of  Volumes  by 
EMINENT  AUTHORS  AND    DIVINES 

JOHN   H.  KERR,  D.D.,  General  Editor 


12mo.     75c.  each  po^paid 


The  Teaching  of  Jesus  Concerniirg 

J.    HIS  OWN  MISSION  Frank  H,  Foster 

"  A  wonderfully  interesting,  suggpestive  and  stimulating  book." 

—Baptist  Teacher. 

2.  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD  AND  THE  CHURCH 

Geerha.rdus  Vos 

"A  scholarly  volume,  well  expressed  and  worthy  of  profound 
consideration."  —The  Examiner. 

3.  GOD  THE  FATHER  A.  T,  Robertson 

"A  fresh,  reverent  and  strong  presentation  of  the  vital  theme." 

—Louisville  Courier-Journal. 

4.  THE  SCRIPTURES  D^'oid  J,  Burrell 

"A  thoughtful  book  by  an  able  writer  on  a  timely  topic." 

—Christian  Instructor. 

5.  CHRISTIAN  CONDUCT  Andrew  C,  Zenos 

"A  very  helpful  and  practical  discussion." 

-^Religious  Telescope. 

6.  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  Louis  B.  CrsLne 

"The  book  aids  us  to  a  lofty  and  true  estimate  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."  —Christian  Nation. 


7.  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  G,  B,  K  Hsittock 

"Sound,  scriptural,  full  of  common  sense,  plain  and  practical." 

—Herald  and  Presbyter. 

8.  THE  FUTURE  LIFE  Willis  J,  Beecher 

"The  book  is  clear,  simple,  scholarly." 

—Cumberlattd  Presbyterian. 

9.  HIS  OWN  PERSON  WayUnd  Hoyt  (In  preparation) 
JO.    JESUS  THE  TEACHER  {Author  to  be  announced) 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 

With   Notes 

REVISED    POCKET    EDITION 

Printed  on  fine,  thin  paper,  bound  in  leather,  divinity  circuit,  red  under 
gold  edge*.     Size,  5 ^  x  3^  x  ^  inches.     Price,  $  1 .00  Poftpaid 


•*  This  is  a  very  handsome  Testament,  clear  type,  copious 
and  comprehensive  notes,  bound  in  limp  leather." — Christian 
Union  Herald. 

**  A  want  is  felt  for  a  New  Testament  that  can  be  carried 
in  the  pocket  and  at  the  same  time  contains  helps.  This  book 
is  printed  in  clear  type,  with  references  and  comprehensive 
notes  covering  about  half  of  each  page.  At  the  beginning  of 
each  book  is  a  short  introduction  to  the  same.  A  synopsis  of 
Kerr's  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  a  chronological  table  of  the 
whole  Bible,  a  table  of  weights  and  measures,  and  the  heights 
of  sacred  localities  are  also  given." — Christian  Nation. 

'*  The  notes  in  this  edition  are  exceedingly  clear  and 
pointed.  They  go  right  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  They  are 
brief,  and  yet  full  of  thought  and  information." — Christian 
Observer. 

*'  We  know  of  no  book  which  is  more  worthy  of  a  popular 
reception  than  this  beautiful  Testament.  It  contains,  ready  to 
hand,  much  of  the  material  needed  in  reading  the  Bible." — 
Christian  Press. 

"Among  the  features  of  this  work  which  are  worthy  of 
special  mention,  are  the  references,  the  notes,  and  the  instruc- 
tions. There  is  nothing  of  more  importance  in  careful  Bible 
study  than  the  comparing  of  Scripture  with  Scripture.  The 
explanatory  notes  are  brief  and  comprehensive.  The  instruc- 
tions given  at  the  close  of  each  chapter  are  full  of  suggestive- 
ness,  and  serve  admirably  both  as  helps  to  devotional  reading 
and  as  hints  for  pastor  or  teacher  in  the  exposition  of  the  text. 
The  brief  yet  comprehensive  introductions  to  the  books  are 
very  valuable." — Methodist  Recorder. 

"The  text  is  the  authorized  version,  with  the  usual  head- 
ings and  references,  but  contains  introductions  to  the  several 
books  and  explanatory  footnotes  on  the  separate  verses,  with  a 
group  of  instructions  at  the  close  of  each  chapter.  The  plan 
has  been  consistently  and  carefully  executed.  The  volume  is 
of  convenient  size  and  of  typographical  excellence." — Sunday 
School  Times. 


The  Young  Convert's  Problems 

And  Their  Solution 

-By 

A.  C.  DIXON.  D.D. 

Author  of  "Evangelism  Old  and  New" 


"  The  charm  of  this  book  is  not  alone  that  it  raises  questions  which 
arise,  but  that  it  raises  questions  which  might  not  arise,  until  one  had 
fallen  too  deeply  into  blunders  and  sins."— Christtan  Intelligencer. 

"This  little  book  is  as  good  for  old  converts  as  it  is  for  young 
onQ%y— Western  Recorder. 

"Just  the  sort  of  a  book  to  put  into  the  hands  of  a  young  Christian." 
—Lutheran  Observer. 

"  The  book  sparkles  from  beginning  to  end,  and  there  is  not  a  dull 
page  in  it."— Baptist  and  Reflector. 

"  Its  suggestions  are  based  on  the  wide  experience  of  a  wise  leader 
of  the  yonngy— Reformed  Ch.  Messenger. 

"  Dr.  Dixon  is  always  fresh,  vigorous  and  suggestive,  and  seldom  has 
he  been  more  so  than  in  this  little  \o\vt.va&. "—Christian  Union  Herald. 

"Especially  to  be  commended  because  it  is  thoroughly  biblical." — 
The  Watchword. 

"The  young  convert  who  follows  these  excellent  counsels  will  not 
go  wrong,"— ^/(?«'^  Herald. 

"The  treatment  is  plain  and  sensible."— Ca«a^/a«  Baptist. 

"A  practical  and  timely  little  volume,  whose  perusal  will  prove 
very  helpful."— 6''«//^^  Presbyterian. 

"As  well  calculated  to  aid  the  young  Christian  as  anything  of  the 
kind  we  have  found."— ^/.  Louis  Christian  Advocate. 

"The  illustrative  anecdotes  make  doubly  sure  the  reading  of  the 
bo<3k  by  those  for  whom  it  is  designed."— /'ac?)?^  Baptist. 

"Wise  words  from  a  proved  winner  of  souls."— A'^.  Y.  Observer. 

12mo.     Cloth.     X.  93  pages.     50  Cents 

special  rates  in  quantities.     Write  for  prices 


'By  the  Same  Author: 

EVANGELISM    OLD   AND   NEW 

12mo.    Cloth,    xiii.  209  pages.    $1.00 

*'This  book  will  teach  how  to  win  souls." 

Sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price 


WHITE,  FIRE, 


BY 


JOHN    OXENHAM 


12mo.    366  pages.     16  illustrations,    $1.25 


"Among  the  books  of  the  season  it  stands  alone  for 
actuality  of  interest  and  the  play  of  thrilling  adventure." — 
British  Weekly. 

"  A  story  that  will  engross  readers  who  care  nothing  for 
missions." — Literary  World. 

"The  story  sets  forth  situations  in  which  strong  souls 
fired  with  great  and  lofty  purposes  go  through  peril  and 
sacrifice  to  accomplish  their  noble  ends.  It  is  an  appealing 
story." — Michigan  Christian  Advocate. 

*'  Told  with  an  amount  of  fire  and  energy  which  compels 
the  reader's  attention  and  makes  this  one  of  the  best  of  recent 
novels." — Morning  Post. 

"  If  there  is  one  purpose  uppermost  in  the  book,  it  is  to 
set  forth  the  truth  that  a  great  enthusiasm  is  the  mightiest 
force  in  the  world." — Religious  Telescope. 

*' '  The  white  fire  of  a  great  enthusiasm  is  the  mightiest 
force  in  the  world.'  This  quotation  upon  the  title  page  of 
John  Oxenham's  missionary  story  of  the  South  Seas  explains 
its  ruling  thought." — Pacific  Baptist. 

"Not  a  dull  chapter." — Baptist  Argus. 

"'White  Fire'  is  a  missionary  story,  but  not  of  the 
mawkish  sort.  It  is  suffused  with  a  manly,  healthy,  practical 
spirit.  The  reader  finds  himself  all  too  soon  at  the  end  of  an 
entrancing  tale." — Scotsman. 

"  The  story  is  full  of  stirring  adventure,  warm  human 
interest,  and  picturesque  description." — Church  Times. 


I 
I 

I 


I 


i     I 


l,i 


II 


I 


l^;'iili 


ilii|ll|||i|i>lMl 


lill' 
:h  ! 


lull     I' 


lip 

'  ill 


'lillH! 


